There were quite a few technological tools we used in this class that I was not previously familiar with. I have not used any of them in my classroom yet, but I hope to at least try out some in my classroom next year.
The first I would use is Google Docs. I would use it to have an ongoing discussion on particular topics we have been discussing in class. It is a great tool because students can add their thoughts at any time and they do not have to write a whole lot to participate.
The second I would use is Moodle forums. I think it is a good tool to have students organize their thoughts and put them down in writing. With this, students are also able to comment on each others' thoughts or pose questions for others to answer.
The third I would use is Voicethread. This is great for the verbal-linguistic students in the class. It is the perfect way for them to share their thoughts and ideas on various topics. I like this tool because it is different from the usual way of assessing students. Students are always expected to be able to show their understanding of something in writing. This is a good way to change things up and get a little variety in assessing students.
The fourth tool that I may or may not use is blogging. I do not think I will have students create their own blogs because I feel 6th graders may be too young to appropriately blog. (Feel free to tell me if you disagree!) I would use blogs in my classroom to post assignments and inform parents about important happenings within the classroom. I'm not sure if I would be able to keep up with it throughout the year though.
The final tool that we used is Skype. Skype is an awesome tool that I had heard about, but never used before this class. I am glad that I took this class and was able to experiment with it. I have since added friends and family and plan to use it frequently for personal reasons. I'm not sure that I would use it with students. I think it could be used to communicate with classrooms in other areas of the country or world. I would not give students access to it individually because I could see it getting out of control. They would have access to communicating with each other at inappropriate times. I guess trust and responsibility would have to be established first. On the other hand, I think that Skype would be a great way for educators around the state to communicate with each other. It is also a great way for teachers and administrators in the same school to communicate and conduct meetings Proxy-Connection: keep-alive
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conferences. It could also be used to communicate with parents, who may be unable to come to school to have a meeting.
There are countless opportunities to use technology in the classroom everyday. I cannot wait to try some new things out for next year!
Sixth graders blogging? Why not? There are countless articles, discussions, and suggestions for students to use blogging effectively...and lots of teachers do so.
ReplyDeleteThe big issue underlying several of these tools is the concern that kids won't use them appropriately...and of course, that should be a concern. But, the bigger picture is that they are using many of these tools outside school on their own with little adult supervision...so we need to teach them how to use them appropriately. Same thing with other non-tech skills we try to teach them as life lessons.
Digital citizenship, responsibility, ethical issues...are all critical for them to know. If we don't teach them how to use these tools, who will?
Is there anyone using blogs in your school with ms kids now or at another ms?