- an example Lit Trip
- information about adding placemarks
- other Google Earth tools
- example assessment rubric
- additional resources
Monday, April 27, 2009
A Google Lit Trip is a term to describe an activity that uses Google Earth to enhance literature. Google Earth allows users to zoom in on specific locations based on latitude and longitude or physical address. It is loaded with other features to enhance comprehension of the story. Sarah-GoogleLitTrips is a blog with
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Second Life
Second Life is an online, virtual, three dimensional world created by Linden Lab. Users can meet interact, play, dance, communicate, attend class, shop and explore virtual environments with people they know if real life as well as meeting others and making friends in a virtual world.
Second Life offers multi-sensory experiences, and therefore, has met the educational needs for some learners. In Second Life, individuals can communicate with others, visit museum and libraries, participate in a class, learn a second language, and much more! This type of learning environment can benefit students because users can:
Second Life offers multi-sensory experiences, and therefore, has met the educational needs for some learners. In Second Life, individuals can communicate with others, visit museum and libraries, participate in a class, learn a second language, and much more! This type of learning environment can benefit students because users can:
- Log on when it is convenient
- Find tutorials that meet individual learning modalities
- Share knowledge with others
- Seek topics of personal interest
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Gaming
I believe, games challenge students to take risks, collaborate and interact with peers, and engage prior knowledge. The idea of games supplementing the curriculum is not a new idea, and some new curriculums use games as a foundation for teaching basic skills. Technology is just the newest venue for games in the academic environment. As educators, it is our job to chose games appropriate in content and academic value; however, it is also key to teach digital natives emphasize concerns involving the online world.
- Time management
- Sharing personal information
- Content evaluation
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Social Media
Interaction in a digital environment is more than just a modern fad. It is making the world a smaller place, bridging language barriers, and based in personal interest. For digital immigrants, this is an advanced version of communication, and it appears to be gaining popularity. For digital natives, this plays a major role in their daily communication. There are many positive aspects to healthy social media interaction including:
- self exploration of topics according to interest
- communicate in a variety of mediums
- connect with people who share similar interests
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wikis
A wiki is a website that is in a state of constant change because anyone in the world can edit it. Among its many uses, wikis can be used to share personal knowledge, to gain information, or collaboration with others. Wikis can also be a good source of information for slang or new words that have not been published in dictionaries. There is potential to using wikis in the educational setting including:
- Increased student collaboration
- Parental involvement and communication
- A learning environment extending outside classroom
- Centralized location for information
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
podcasting
Podcasting allows individuals to select audio content to be downloaded as desired. Podcasts can be stored on the computer or portable devices such as iPods or mP3 players. Podcasting is a general term that encompasses both audio and visual content that is portable and accessible anytime, anywhere. Throughout the last two weeks I have learned that podcasting has more potential in my classroom than I had originally thought. Podcasting has its place in education as it can allow students to access:
- Audiobooks
- News
- missed lessons
- tutorials
- personal information
- music
These past few weeks have also made me begin to wonder about the structure of our current educational system. If there is this much information that is portable and available on-demand, the radical change to the educational system seems appropriate, and possibly more economic.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
self reflection: web 2.0
Throughout the past two weeks, I have learned about many ways educators have integrated web 2.0 tools into existing curriculums. I am excited to report, that through collaboration and personal research, I have discovered how to enhance technology use in my own classroom.
An overwhelming theme that appeared throughout this discussion, was the frustration of managed computers. I am fortunate to be the administrator on all of the machines in our building, so I can freely download applications when needed. I have not always been in this position, however, so I can understand the frustration level of educators who find quality tools, but then get hateful message declaring the lack of administrative rights.
I have mixed feelings about managed machines. On one hand, not all teachers are at the same level of proficiency, and by giving them rights, they may not always know what they are doing. This has happened recently with some printer drivers, and it has increased my workload because I am backtracking to fix the mistakes of others (this frustration is enhanced because with many of the teachers I work with, they are not learning from their mistakes because they aren't the ones fixing the problem). Also, managed machines ensure that updates happen as they should, keeping machines running properly. Lastly, I have been put into situations where teachers have requested I load software on multiple machines and, thus, violating copyright laws. I feel like the Gestapo when I tell people when and where they can load software on their machines. More often than not, I am the "bad guy". I can understand and sympathize how managed machines make life maddening for many educators, and disregards professional judgement in many cases; however, I also believe that everything, including computers need a system of checks and balances.
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