Tool # 11 - Reflection

I enjoyed broading my knowledge and learning more about how technology can be useful in the classroom. This past year I used the itouch with my struggling readers and they loved some of the apps I selected. Some of my favorite tools that I learned about were the Google Docs, Wordle, and videos. I would like to do a Wordle activity with my kids. They could create one summarizing things from a book they read. I found the digital storytelling quite easy to use also. Kids would love it! Once again we as teachers who are often scared about implementing technology need to realize how engaging it is for students. They are never scared to try things. We need to play catchup. The only thing unexpected is the amount of time it took. We should receive more than 9 hours of credit. Overall, it is worth the time and it opened my eyes to many more avenues for using technology.

Tool # 11

I think it is important when we are introducing kids to various forms of technology that we cover digital etiquette, digital rights & responsibilities, and digital security & safety. This is no different that when we start the year and introduce the class to rules, expectations, and responsibilites. If children do not have knowledge of digital citizenship then they will feel free to justify anything that is done. Brain Pop is a good website useful for digital citizenship.

Tool #10

Ok, this is right up my alley. I have already been using the itouch with my students. Two of the free apps that I use quite freqently are "Doodle Buddy" and "ABC Pocket Phonics Lite". These are great for my struggling readers. Doodle Buddy is just like a colored marker and a white sheet of paper. I have called out a word and the kids had to write which digraph they heard. For example: ship - the student would write "sh" on their itouch. They love it!! Also, the ABC Pocket Phonics is good for fine motor skills when the kids are trying to learn to write the letters and hear the sounds. So fun!! The itouch is interactive and engaging.

Tool #9

Wow! What fun Skype and Jing are. I like the idea of capturing images to put with text. Many times the old phrase is true...A picture is worth a thousand words. Kids would be able to visualize more clearly with added images. Online pen pals would be great. Also if you capture an image just like a virtual field trip. Skype would be great also if you were trying to learn a foreign language. If a class miles away was trying to teach us Spanish and we were trying to teach them English we would have communication daily. Book reviews and online chats with authors would be another great way to utilize Skype.

Tool #8

I located 2 great videos from YouTube that would be useful with my struggling readers as they learn their letters and sounds. I like the fact that videos are usually short and enticing. Many of the filmstrips that our teachers used to show us were long and students tuned out quickly. I only remember the "beep" when it told the teacher to advance the filmstrip. These videos have animation and sounds to engage the learner. They can be used to enhance curriculum and spark learning in a particular curriculum area for more indepth research.

Tool #8

Tool # 8