Well, our final version of the "student's point of view" is done, and I must hand it to those that did the touch-ups. I think it looks good, and is comprehensive. I was glad to be working with a team that had some computer skills, since I find myself kind of weak in some areas. This is why this class is so good for me, because it's enhancing my internet tool use, which I need, and am really enjoying.
Our group collaborated well, and we were good at giving feed-back to each other and responding readily to each other's posts. I did feel a panic when I erased the entire front page of the wiki one night, but with Char's help I was able to retrieve the prior version, and fix my mess-up. But I did learn from that experience, so it was a valuable one.
This project has opened my eyes to what things I will need to consider when I have a classroom full of students using the internet. It is so important that guidelines be presented by the teacher and that internet use be monitored and, for younger students, somewhat controlled. Until students are mature enough to deal with the content that might land on their screen, a step by step guide is a good way to go, so that the points hit home. I think keeping students informed of good internet practice is essential to making sure safe internet practices are in use. My students will be exposed to more technology and information than I will be able to control, but with good instruction, they should be able to use the internet safely, and will hopefully know how to avoid dangerous situations. I think it's tough for students these days, since they are bombarded with ads and videos and music, and they want very much to be part of it, and feel included. Sometimes, it's hard to step back and remain anonymous, but that is often the safest thing to do.
This project also taught me that sloppy internet use can be costly in financial terms, and in terms of one's overall safety. Students should be informed of this, in blunt terms, so they understand the consequences of their actions when on-line.
I also thought it was great that each group worked on the project from a different slant, this made final products all-inclusive. I checked out group A and group B - nice job all of you. I'm impressed!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
holy google!
I've heard people saying how great Google is and how you can do so much with Google, but to me, Google was just a search engine, I had no idea of all of the other capabilities.
I worked on my first "Google Doc" last night and created a simple paragraph, and was able to save it on my computer in my 611 folder, but if I'm not at home and I need to find that file, I can! I was telling my husband about all that Google can do, how it enables you to access things like favorites (through Notebook) and how Google can make your life for portable. He wondered about the security of Google, since all of his files are proprietary (he's a scientist) and he felt that for him the best option was still his own laptop. I can see his point, but I do think Google can really empower and assist many people, and can make life easier. Like Char, you said you never know which computer you'll be working on, so Google Docs makes a lot of sense for you. The Google Reader is a pretty handy feature too. I subscribed to a few blogs with Reader (love the David Warlick blog ... even though I'm not into all of the conferences and things he is, I like his writing style and he makes solid observations). It seems that Google has put a lot of effort into developing features that save time, so people can access much of their info from one spot, without being at home. One things I'm not crazy about is the gmail interface - I find the screen kind of jumbled and hard to get around, but that's because I've been a trusty Yahoo user for many years now, and it's hard for me to stay.
Overall, love all of the cool internet tools we're learning about. This class was the smartest class choice for me this summer, no doubt!
I worked on my first "Google Doc" last night and created a simple paragraph, and was able to save it on my computer in my 611 folder, but if I'm not at home and I need to find that file, I can! I was telling my husband about all that Google can do, how it enables you to access things like favorites (through Notebook) and how Google can make your life for portable. He wondered about the security of Google, since all of his files are proprietary (he's a scientist) and he felt that for him the best option was still his own laptop. I can see his point, but I do think Google can really empower and assist many people, and can make life easier. Like Char, you said you never know which computer you'll be working on, so Google Docs makes a lot of sense for you. The Google Reader is a pretty handy feature too. I subscribed to a few blogs with Reader (love the David Warlick blog ... even though I'm not into all of the conferences and things he is, I like his writing style and he makes solid observations). It seems that Google has put a lot of effort into developing features that save time, so people can access much of their info from one spot, without being at home. One things I'm not crazy about is the gmail interface - I find the screen kind of jumbled and hard to get around, but that's because I've been a trusty Yahoo user for many years now, and it's hard for me to stay.
Overall, love all of the cool internet tools we're learning about. This class was the smartest class choice for me this summer, no doubt!
Sunday, June 24, 2007
wiki collaborative writing project
I'm looking forward to working with my group (7 of us) to write a research paper from the student's perspective regarding internet safety. I think this will be a great exercise in wiki use as well as collaborative writing, which, after reading the readings for this week, I think I'm not very practiced at. What I've done in the past, in terms of group work, would qualify as cooperative, not really collaborative. Anyhow, everyone must start somewhere!
I love the on-line class and the freedom it allows, in terms of operating on my own schedule, and finding convenient time (I'm an early bird so I like to work in the mornings before my kids get up) to be on-line. I'd definitely take another one, but this is my last class before student teaching (yippee!).
Sigrid
I love the on-line class and the freedom it allows, in terms of operating on my own schedule, and finding convenient time (I'm an early bird so I like to work in the mornings before my kids get up) to be on-line. I'd definitely take another one, but this is my last class before student teaching (yippee!).
Sigrid
Sunday, June 17, 2007
getting the hang of it!
I'm starting to feel better about my blog and checking my blog is now part of my 20-times-a-day-email-checking routine. I think teachers and students alike, once they get into the habit of blogging, will find it easy to make it part of their day!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
blogs in education
First: Can anyone give me advice on how to make my picture smaller? It's huge and I did not intend for it to be that big..... I'd apprecite it!
As for blogs in education - I have to admit that this class has me chatting to anyone who will listen about the great potential to use the resources available on the internet to aid educators. I think blogs are so appropriate because they are relatively easy to use/access, and they allow for spontaneous expository writing, which is a good way for students (or anyone) to come to terms with their thoughts, work out logic, brainstorm, let off steam, create quality writing, etc. Blogs provide a space for writing to be public, and to allow comments, suggestions, and improvements to be viewed by any intended audience. What struck me as neat is how many journalists even have their own blog sites, as a way to get out their spur-of-the-moment opinions/insights in an informal manner. I think blogs will (and already have for some people) change the way information is shared, received, perceived, and responded to.
One concern I have about using blogs (Richardson talked about teachers who have gone paperless and who have their entire classes using blogs to compile years worth of work) is that in some cases, students and their families might not have access to the internet, so students would not be able to access or work on their blogs unless at school or a library. This could be limiting for some students, so teachers would have to know their students well, and know their students personal situations well, in order to make sure they are being fair to all.
For me personally, I think I'll have to make a point to try to "blog" daily, so that I become more comfortable with sharing my own thoughts and adding to blogs as I feel inspired to. I did post to a blog (about disciplining kids) and I was kind of shy almost to see my opinion out there, in clear view of anyone who wanted to read it.... so this will take some time for me to get used to. I checked out a few of the blog sites from page 58 in the text. I loved David Warlick's site - it was funny and definitely worth reading, so I subscribed to it with my Google Reader (go Sigrid!!).
Anyway, so far I'm loving all of this blogging, I'm going to keep working on my site so I can improve the layout a bit!!
As for blogs in education - I have to admit that this class has me chatting to anyone who will listen about the great potential to use the resources available on the internet to aid educators. I think blogs are so appropriate because they are relatively easy to use/access, and they allow for spontaneous expository writing, which is a good way for students (or anyone) to come to terms with their thoughts, work out logic, brainstorm, let off steam, create quality writing, etc. Blogs provide a space for writing to be public, and to allow comments, suggestions, and improvements to be viewed by any intended audience. What struck me as neat is how many journalists even have their own blog sites, as a way to get out their spur-of-the-moment opinions/insights in an informal manner. I think blogs will (and already have for some people) change the way information is shared, received, perceived, and responded to.
One concern I have about using blogs (Richardson talked about teachers who have gone paperless and who have their entire classes using blogs to compile years worth of work) is that in some cases, students and their families might not have access to the internet, so students would not be able to access or work on their blogs unless at school or a library. This could be limiting for some students, so teachers would have to know their students well, and know their students personal situations well, in order to make sure they are being fair to all.
For me personally, I think I'll have to make a point to try to "blog" daily, so that I become more comfortable with sharing my own thoughts and adding to blogs as I feel inspired to. I did post to a blog (about disciplining kids) and I was kind of shy almost to see my opinion out there, in clear view of anyone who wanted to read it.... so this will take some time for me to get used to. I checked out a few of the blog sites from page 58 in the text. I loved David Warlick's site - it was funny and definitely worth reading, so I subscribed to it with my Google Reader (go Sigrid!!).
Anyway, so far I'm loving all of this blogging, I'm going to keep working on my site so I can improve the layout a bit!!
Experimenting
OK, I've just created my blog site, but I need to learn how to add my picture, personal profile, etc. Over the next few days I plan to navigate around this site and figure all of this out.
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