Week 4 Blog Post #3

I have very mixed feelings about having a networked classroom.  My students, who are five and six, are unable to independently get on the internet and complete a given task.  With that being said, my students last week used the iPads for the first time and I was blown away.  Out of 21 students, not one of them needed instructions to turn it on, find the correct window, or play the games.  I was very surprised that every students was able to complete the given task.  Part of the reason why I was so surprised is because I work in a building with a lot of low-income families who have no technology in their homes.  This also brings up another concern about having a networked classroom.  A little over half of my current students have internet service in the their homes.  This can cause a huge problem for those students who are in a networked classroom who can't do things from home.  

This year I have implemented online homework.  I post the assignments on a blog page and than my parents/students respond to the question online.  If the student does not have internet access, I send home a paper copy for them to complete at home with the parents.  This allows all families access to the homework assignment.  This has been a new addition to my class this year.  I am hoping next year that I can add a class blog that tells my parents exactly what is going on in our classroom. 

A networked class meets students of all needs because it allows students of different abilities to learn in different ways.  They are able to access the information in multiple different means.  The auditory and visual student can access videos to help them have a better understanding.  Gifted students are able to monitor their own learning.  This allows them to excel on their own without a lot of teacher guidance.  I have found some really great websites that allow students to translate English into another language.  These sites allow ESOL students easy access to translations.    

TWITTER ACCOUNT

melaniesmith52

Twitter

I set up a Twitter account several months ago for an assignment in another class.  I never really used it, or even explored it enough to actually learn enough about it.  I am so excited to be forced into using it this time. Just from spending a few hours trying to accomplish our current assignment, I have found some great resources. I am also very excited to be able find new people on twitter4teacher to follow.  This will make finding other teachers that I have things in common with easier.  I find it hard to actually find people to follow, unless they are famous or I know their twitter name.  I do however know that I need to continue to explore how to use it more efficiently.

I tried the "Tweet Deck" and I am not sure how much I like it.  I originally thought that I didn't like it at all.  The more I actually used it and checked it out, the more I realized it is pretty great.  It seems very easy to read and you can keep up on your tweets, other tweets, and other activity going on.  It seems a lot easier to follow than my own twitter page.  I am excited to see how much more I can learn about it and if I can use it on my Android phone.

Reading chapters 1 and 2 was very eye opening for me.  I am completely aware of how education is changing around us on a daily basis.  I try to incorporate as much technology into my class on a daily basis.  I have struggled with this for many reasons, but especially because of the grade level I teach, Kindergarten.  When they are still learning the basic keyboarding skills it is hard to teach them about looking for their own ideas online.  I am trying to use information/images/videos online for my students to experience different things.  For example, in the coming weeks we will be starting a new unit called "Around The World".  In this unit I use images/music/videos/etc to help students understand that we live in a very small part of this great big World.  As we read different texts they are constantly asking questions about different things.  I am always using the internet to help answer those questions.

One of the very important things I need to teach my students about is digital citizenship.  This is something that needs to be taught at a very young age.  Students are getting online at a much younger age than ever before.  At the same time these students do not understand the repercussions of posting different things online.  They do not have a clear understanding of what they put online now, will always be there for anyone to see.  With my students it is very important for me to start teaching them how to behave in an online community.  

As I continued to read I love how the Author stresses how important it is to set guidelines for yourself of when and for how long you are online.  Like the author stated "we can be intellectually close to people who are three thousand miles away, while in the same respect, we may be far away from those sitting right next to us" (p 17)  Nothing is more frustrating to me than going out with someone and they are constantly playing on their phone.  There is a time and place for technology and another job that needs to be taught is when it is appropriate.  

As I continued to read on to chapter 2 I am very excited to use Twitter and Delicious more.  I started using them in one of my classes but never really followed through with it.  My goal is to really get used to using both of these wonderful tools to help me to be a better teacher.  I have never used or really heard much about Google Reader.  I am hoping to add this to my list of things that I want to learn more about.