Facebook + Classroom = NING

Not a fan of facebook myself (I think we overshare a bit much these days) but if I were an upper grade teacher I would find this interesting to say the least.

technorati :(

I just tried to use the technorati watchlist (page 81- Richardson text) to monitor whenever someone refers to my blog- thought it sounded neat. But unfortunately the error message sounds pretty final.

Diigo

Thanks to this video I am feeling more confident in using Diigo. I also love the idea that it can be accessed via my ipad. It's a lot like dropbox (the online cloud part), but much easier/ faster. Now I only have to decipher delicious.com!

Blogging and Wikis

Our most recent chapters were nice easy reads about using blogs and wikis. While I like this site (blogger) as an adult, I don't recommend it for children simply because it is hard to mediate those comments/ posts. However, I have already been exposed to the wonderful world of kidblog and that is one I do recommend. This would have been a helpful read as we began our own blogs, although some of the information is outdated already- like the issues with spellcheck, I see that Blogger has already addressed that as it is telling me right now as I type that "spellcheck" is misspelled!
As far as wikis go (chapter 4), I actually found them easy to use and quite motivating when I taught 6th grade Language Arts. I used wikispaces and loved it. It was an easy way to organize my three classes, assign homework, and get the kids interacting about books by choice. I have not ever used wikipedia in the classroom as a tool (although I hate to admit it but I am on there ALL THE TIME for personal use). I think it's amazing that we can co-author informational writing without even knowing the other people. But I always question how efficient a watchdog this sight has (how often are they checked, are they checked by actual experts, and just how many people out there publish misinformation for their own entertainment?). The wikijunior is intriguing, although a little hard to navigate and find something I think is appropriate reading material for 1st grade.


Check out this video that says that it is related to our text. It is a neat way to use the wiki program in a classroom with older students. It also touches on diigo.

Blogging in Grade 1?!

First of all, I have NEVER written a blog in my life. However I am familiar with them enough to navigate this assignment. I think there are many valuable blogs readily available that teachers can and should frequent in order to gather ideas. However, I am a very private person and know that once this assignment is complete I will probably never have the urge to publicly share my thoughts again (there's that generation gap- that has changed our definition of privacy- in action). That is also why I do not have a facebook account or similar social networking account. I just don't have that much to say to anyone I don't already say it to.  But I do see tremendous value in technology, the knowledge of it, and it's role in the modern world! I strongly encourage my coworkers to stop fighting the technology and use it to reach their students, expand their territory of expertise, and supplement their worksheets. 100+ math problems in 10 minutes vs one cut and past worksheet is invaluable!
The text Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson describes the shifts occuring to our world as a result of technology and it reminds me of a video shared (via youtube!) in a previous class that said something along the lines of... the top jobs today didn't even exist ten years ago. Children need to be adders of information. The "participatory journalism" is really critical literacy in every sense of the word. And teachers need to stop being hypocrites by resisting the opportunity to learn what they do not know. Engaging our students as teachers is an amazing experience for both us and them.
I am very interested in incorporating blogging professionally, even if I don't use it in a personal way. Using iPads, I am going to try out the ideas from the text about blogging rather than journaling on paper all of the time. Unfortunately- 1st graders are slow typers and therefore this will have to be a limited experiment. But who knows, I have been surprised so many times already. I love the idea that this is an "online filing cabinet" (page 24). After checking out Mr. C's Class Blog I was really inspired to find ways of incorporating video to remind students of lessons/ share what we are working on, but more in the way that it was done on the 1st grade video posted on our class blog. I also prefer the format of the write blog.
There is definite value in embracing technology... both for you and your students!