When I first started blogging as an assignment I didn’t realize how useful blogging could be as a teacher. I discovered there are many blog sites dedicated to education. Some sites lead to discussion and others are a great form of information. I have learned a great deal about technology and education through blogging. I would highly recommend blogging to other teachers. I will definitely continue using blogging to enhance my teaching technology skills.
Subject: Ed Galaxy Blog:
April 16, 2010
Once again Kevin Cummins the author of Ed Galaxy has been busy blogging. He posted around 2 blogs a week. Here is a list of a few of his blogs for the month of April: Best War History Websites for Students, Lookah - The Best Software Tutorials on the Web, Adobe CS5 Education Solutions, Excellent chart design tool for any classroom or office , and Top 5 iPad apps for Educators.
My Participation: I visited my favorite Ed Galaxy Blog site and was taken to the most fascinating video tutorial site on how to use technology in the classroom: http://www.lookah.tv/media.cfm?cid=&id=122
Lookah TV has an endless amount of videos that have all been screened to insure quality. I watched Using Inspiration with Smart Board – Part 1 video. I found this video very informative since I have no experience with the Smart Board technology. The video shows the viewer how useful Smart Boards can be when forming concept maps. The site has a variety of tutorial videos: Adobe, Animoto, Apple, Cam Studio, EasiTeach, Facebook, Game Maker and Wiki are a few videos.
My Learning: I learned how initiative and interactive Smart Boards can be in the classroom. The technology should be in every classroom. I look forward to the day when I can use this technology in my own classroom.
Subject: Hope Foundation Blog:
April 16, 2010
Hope Foundation Blog is one of my favorite blogs to have meaningful discussions on education. This month they had an article about how schools are now taking away recess from children and replacing it with structured play activities. Hope Foundation wanted to know what educators thought about this article.
My Participation: I posted my comments on April 16, 2010 about how I felt about recess; children should have free time at school away from structured activities and recess should not be taken away. On April 17, 2010 I received a response to my comment agreeing with my opinions. The commentator also suggested that research should be conducted to determine which theory was most affective in promoting academic success. Another blogger left a comment on April 20, 2010 regarding my comment. She is a counselor and has become concerned with the early diagnoses of ADHD (attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder). She believes that children are no longer allowed to be children anymore and adults expect them to be little grownups. She agreed that free play and unstructured social time is important in a child’s development to learn how to manage their own behavior.
On March 31, 2010 Alan Blankstein comment on the Hope Foundation Blog about the firing of an entire staff of teachers. He had very valid points on how administrators and teachers should work together. He illustrated that firing entire staff was a cowards approach and that hard work and cooperation is the answer. Additionally, he commented on how only two states received top honors in education. What happen to the other 48 states? On April 16, 2010 I decided to leave a commit of support, and emphasize the importance of working together to achieve higher academic standards.
My Learning: Hope Foundation has been an extremely informative blog bringing major issues in education up for discussion. Through conversations with other educators I have been able to learn about important issues affecting education today. This information will enhance my teaching experience with students and working relationship with co-workers.
Subject: Ozge Karaoglu Blog
Ozge Karaoglu Blog is always filled with great technology information however this last month there was not as many postings. Ozge usually has a blog a week filled with her favorite technology items. This last month however she was a way on the IATEFL (International Association of Teachers of English as a Foreign Language) conference which she posted about. During the week of March 18, 2010 Ozge posted her favorites on 100 Web Tools to Enhance Collaboration (Part 3). This posting was filled with great sites that promoted collaboration within the classroom.
My Participation:
On April 10, 2010 I decided to check out the WorldTV.com site that Ozge recommended. To my disappointment the site did not load for me. It looked like it would be a very interesting teaching tool and I was curious to see how it worked.
Since World TV did not work I switched my focus to Metanotes. This site gives the user an ability to create post it notes on their computer. After registering for this free service the website went down.
My Learning:
I learned sometimes technology doesn’t work the way you want it to. It was very disappointing not to be able to check out these sites that Ozge recommended.
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