Conclusion- What I will use in my classroom

I have learned a lot from this class that I want to utilize in my classroom. I was pro-technology use in the classroom before but really had no idea of the variety of possibilities, and to be honest, I was embarrassed and hesitant to use something I am so unfamiliar with. My favorite things that I learned about that I want to utilize in my classroom are the wiki-textbook that students write; social bookmarking sites that are helpful; vidcasts/podcasts of educational videos/files; student blogs; and curriculum webs. A lot of these things take a lot of time and I think it is easy to get overwhelmed- like I felt with this class!- but I think if I started implementing a little bit at a time, then both my students and I could really enrich the teaching/learning environment. Technology is the way of the future, after all. And I certainly don't want to be left behind because I am too nervous to implement technology. One of the things I read in one of those articles talked about a huge difference in attitude that it takes. The old way of thinking is that technology could be really helpful in supplementing lessons. The new wave of thought is that it is becoming intimately intertwined with the teaching. Our nation is really falling behind, both in regards to technology usage and academically. Somehow we need to bridge the gap that has been created so that struggling learners and even the very bright, but bored ones can again be successful in school and motivated to learn.

Social Bookmarking

Social Bookmarking is a way to basically make your favorite sites public. It is especially helpful for teachers because you can organize them into the topics you cover. This saves a lot of time in the long run. In future years when I am teaching the same topics I will not need to go online on a hunt for useful websites- wading through the ones that either no longer work or are not very helpful. Social bookmarking is helpful as well because the sites alert you when sites have been updated. This is especially helpful when you have student blogs to check through. That way whenever they are updated you know about it and you don't have to spend hours clicking through various pages. Bookmarked sites let you know how many times a site has been hit. And although this does not guarantee that it is a very good website, it may mean that a lot of people found it useful.

They way that I most intend to use it is for my own personal file keeper. As I stumble upon useful websites I can bookmark them. It is diffferent than just regular bookmarking because it is through the network, so whichever computer I use they will be accessible. It will also allow me to organize websites by topic: exponents, integers, equations, percents... that way when I am teaching it again I know just where to look,

Student-Selected Topic-- mini-laptops for the classroom

My school just purchased 30 mini-laptops. We even have wireless, albeit spotty. I love the idea of losing these in my classroom. I am very optimistic about the future use of these laptops. Just a little while ago I had my students watch an internet video walking them through step-by-step how to do geometric constructions. They loved it! But it would have worked even better if each kid could have watched their own video with headphones so that they could rewind, pause and repeat whenever they needed to.

I have 2 concerns: accessibility and monitoring what they have access to. The issue of accessibility is basically a non-issue: I don't see anyway to remedy this until all students can be provided with one. There have been discussions among other schools that give each student one for the school year- it usually results in increased amounts of accountability and responsibility. The other issue is monitoring. How do I have the kids do something like a curriculum web that needs internet research but also monitor that they are not going places they shouldn't. I'm not worried about porn or even youtube- the WebSense censoring program takes care of that- but what about just other fun sites that kids like to go on- games, music etc. How do we prevent them from going on sites that have nothing to do with what we are teaching.
Is there a way that I could control all of their computers from mine? Or that I could lock them out from all sites except a few that I select? That would be perfect!

Using Multimedia

Multimedia typically refers to a combination of text, pictures, movies, and sound on web pages. If you are making a website, like we are- depending on the type of image, music etc there are better and worse options for formatting. JPEG vs GIF for images; Real Player vs Windows media player for music; Quicktime for movies.

The effects of multimedia I think are obvious: it makes websites more interesting, fun to go on, unique. Of course, there is also a downside, if you use too much media. I have been on a few math websites for kids where they are obviously trying to appeal to kids with animated graphics, lots of color etc, but I feel so over-stimulated by looking at the page, that I never even use it, and there's probably some good stuff on there. So while it is important for a website to have multimedia on it, you want to be careful that it is effective and not overwhelming.

The most interesting thing brought up by this chapter (9) had to do with future types of multimedia which will appeal to other sense besides just the visual and sound senses: taste, smell and touch! Very weird and cool. All I can really picture from this is virtual reality websites that bring interactivity to a whole new dimension.. o my nerdiness knows no bounds.

Wikis

The most popular Wiki is wikipedia, an online encyclopedia that is freely written and edited by multiple authors. More generally speaking, wikis are websites that have multiple authors. The information is not copyrighted and all edits are kept track of- a history provided for every change made.
Making a wiki is actually a lot like making our websites but also seems to combine some elements of a class blog, where students can post responses to things other students contribute. The biggest difference is that instead of responses, the input of other students is actually incorportated into the original. Chris said something that seemed like a helpful metaphor: you build a house but keep all the scaffolding on and you can just keep adding new rooms, changing things around constantly with no real hassle.
The most interesting use of a wiki that I learned about was a WikiBook. Your students could make a Wikibook about the topics covered all year. VERY COOL! They basically write their own textbook. Obviously a few issues pop up, besides the typical censoring inappropriateness. Organization is a toughie. But you could go in and at least make an initial set up, in an outline format, and the students could provide the "meat" of the wiki, which other students can correct and improve upon. I love this idea and can't wait for the day that all my students have internet access and I could actually do this as a class project. My various students over the course of years even! could work on it!

Factors will impact using curriculum webs in schools

Chapter 12 mentions these factors as being involved: people, classrooms, computers, computer labs, connectivity, software issues, and email. Basically I see it all come down to having accessibility to technology, implementing curriculum webs wide-spread throughout classrooms effectively, and having a positive attitude or approach to using this type of technology in the classroom. Most of us agree that technology is a good thing for the classroom so reluctance or hesitancy does not seem like an issue I would be having.

Obviously an issue for most of us is accessibility. Our schools may have computers, but perhaps not many, or they may not be hooked up to a wireless network. Or if they are, the service is spotty. So the solution becomes, it will have to be an "at-home" implementation. But many of my kids don't have a computer or the internet. Or they are not allowed to use it. These issues we have hashed out and rehashed. So what CAN we do? We can try and stay positive and come up with some way to do this. Perhaps instead of every student having a computer in front of them, you could at least hook up your screen to an LCD (if you have a SMART board box at least) and go through the curriculum webs from one screen. And while yes, this may not be ideal, you can instruct those kids with internet to go online at home as well and explore for themselves.

Podcasting

A Podcast is literally an ipod plus a broadcast. There are a variety of types of podcasts: audio, vidcast, and enhanced podcast (audio and a still image). Podcasts have a variety of uses. They can be used for radio programs, blogs, educational,interviews, reviews, and news and politics. They are a great resource for both students and teachers. As a new teacher it can often be difficult to know the best way to teach a topic. Podcasts allow teachers to watch other teachers teach the topic in a way they probably had not thought of. Students can also listen to a podcast or watch a vidcast- say, if they for some crazy reason get sick of hearing you yap all day. It is also an amazing way to help struggling students- for remediation purposes- to whom maybe you don't have the time to spend re-teaching an entire lesson. Kids can even make their own podcasts, which brings a creative, fun edge to a topic.
I love the idea of podcasts! I am constantly confiscating random electronic gadget and toys, and one of the articles I read for the annotated bibliography mentioned that the traditional in-school attitude of NO ELECTRONICS does two bad things: kids love technology, so you're denying them something that they love; also, you are not meshing with their world, which is rapidly becoming all about technology.