Technology Auto-biography revisted

I don't really have too much to change in my auto-biography. I took Sara Kadjer's class over the summer and really took to heart what she was saying and therefore, have attempted to incorporate more technology into my class this year. Additionally, through the TIP program, I finally have the resources necessary to follow through on many of the ideas I have.

I definitely have learned a few more tools and programs that will undoubtedly be extremely useful in the future.

From comic strips, to online grammar exercises, to web research, I have incorporated MUCH more technology into my classes this year. I have found that these lessons have been some of the most successful, some of the most disastrous, some of the most time-consuming,and some of the most frustrating lessons I have ever taught. Hopefully, as I become a more experienced teacher and a more experienced user of these particular technologies, these lessons will become easier to plan for and implement and more a part of my standard repertoire of teaching tools.

Creating Products, not just taking tests

In the final chapter of the text, Richardson discusses how new technologies allow students to demonstrate mastery of material by creating authentic products, rather than merely performing satisfactorily on a written test. I whole-heartedly agree with this! Hearing ideas from other people and seeing what teachers around the country are doing has pushed me to expand my thinking and my conception of what it means to demonstrate mastery. I am excited now to find new ways for my students to create meaningful, authentic products that can be shared with a wider audience. In making assignments more practical, I truly think that I can have another shot at reaching struggling students and those who are apathetic about school. As a high school teacher of struggling students, I think that this may be one of the only way to reach students who do not see the purpose of their education and who have been unsuccessful in conventional school settings so long that they have lost faith in themselves as students.

Podcasts

After reading the section in the text on podcasting and then having created one in class, I really doubt that I would be able to utilize this tool in my classroom. Audacity was not a very user-friendly program in my experience and as I got frustrated and confused, I saw in my mind's eye the kind of mayhem and uproar that would likely result from setting my students loose with this technology. I love the idea of students creating a verbal essay or engaging in a dialogue, but, as I said, I worry that this particular program will not allow them to successfully pursue this. I wonder if there is a simpler, more user-friendly free program that can be used for podcasts....

Any ideas? Helpful suggestions? Good websites to recommend that have simple, easy-to-understand instructions for podcasting?

After my initial unpleasant experience, I am not sure what to do!!

Flickr Assignment

http://www.flickr.com/photos/21516206@N06/2098440742/#preview

This is the flickr assignment I made, a little late I know....but late is better than never.

It is an online quiz for Spanish 1 on the names of the body parts.

digital story idea

*I want to make my digital story about my love of travel and the amazing experiences I have had on my trips. I want to tell this story because as a Spanish teacher, I feel that students need to understand why I love Spanish and think that learning a foreign language is extremely important. My audience is my Spanish students. I am going to use my personal photographs that I took on my various trips and travels.

What the heck is flickr?

Alright...I was sick with a cold last week and didn't make it to either of my U of L classes AND I have my first KTIP observation. Oh goodness.

That being said, I was not in class when we started the project wtih Flikr. I read the text chapter and yet still I don't really understand what Flickr is and how it works. As Richardson said in Chapter 1, kids are "natives" to the technological world of today. I can handle some aspects and pieces of technology, but I am be no means a "native." Technology makes me nervous!! I need to have a bit of time to experiment with a new program/application in order to feel comfortable with using it. I suppose I need to jump in and see what Flickr is all about. Well see how it goes...

Kids do the Darndest Things!!

In starting to read Richardson's book "Blogs, wikis, and podcasts," I was blown away by all of the amazing things young children (under 10) are doing using the Internet and other technology. I don't have any idea how they were able to complete those projects! To hear about young kids enthusiastically involved in educational activities is just great! After eharing about these kids, I am even more excited about trying to incorporate more technology in my classes.