Social Bookmarks

My social bookmarks page:

http://www.diigo.com/user/ashleybabb


The social bookmarks project was very interesting. Through creating the social bookmarks, I was able to find and bookmark many useful websites and resources that I can use in my classroom. There were many websites that I found that offered learning games, lesson plans, or general knowledge that I can use to teach my students. I also bookmarked many websites for professional organizations. Many of the professional organizations had a webpage for the standards. For example, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) website has a link to the NCTM standards. These standards will help me when teaching my students. I can evaluate what I am teaching and see if it relates to the NCTM standards, and then adjust the content if needed.

I also bookmarked some of my favorite blog posts that I read this semester. Several of them offered advice to all teachers and I found that advice to be helpful. For example, one blog had a “Best of” blog post. This blog post offered some of what the author considered the best posts about library, media, classroom management, and other valuable resources. I found this blog post to be very helpful in continuing in my classroom management growth.

By doing the social bookmarks project, I learned of many websites and resources that otherwise I would not have known. These websites and resources will help me in my teaching. I feel that it is valuable to be able to communicate and share with others. We can all learn from one another and use that new information for the benefit of our students.

Google Reader

The week 6 blog requires us to respond to our Google Reader Project that we have been doing all semester.

The blogs I followed:

A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.com/

Free Technology for Teachers http://www.freetech4teachers.com

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day http://larryferlazzo.edublogs.org

Will Richardson http://willrichardson.com

CoolCat Teacher Blog http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com

The Reading Workshop http://thereadingworkshop.com

Twenty-first Century Collaborative http://www.21stcenturycollaborative.com

My favorite blog was Will Richardson’s Blog. This blog taught me a lot about what is going on in government in relation to schools, education, testing, and learning. I discovered that other educators felt the same way that I do about high-stakes testing, and how our jobs should depend not on how students do on one test on one day of the year, but on their continued performance and growth over the entire year. Will Richardson’s blog is putting a voice to the frustration felt by many teachers across the United States today. Through his blog, Will is encouraging educators to take a stand and move the emphasis in schools back to the students and their learning instead of the tests. Will is focused on the students and providing the students with the best education that teachers can give them. Through his blog, he has made me rethink the daily actions that I do as a teacher and make sure that I am doing them for the students, not for their performance on standardized tests.

My favorite blog post was from the blog entitled “A Media Specialist’s Guide to the Internet.” The post was called “When Your School Library Budget is Slashed.” In this post, Julie talked about how her library budget had again been cut. She listed several free resources that she was suggesting to her students and teachers. She also had created pathfinder websites based on information and other websites that she had already viewed for students. In this post, she also suggested alternatives to magazine subscriptions. In her research, she found that many of the magazines that she subscribed to were available from EBSCO. This would provide students and teachers with those magazine resources and allow them to be able to conduct their research. She also made two suggestions to raise money. The first was through Amazon School Rewards, and the other an old-fashioned raffle. The Amazon School Rewards program allowed parents to log in to Amazon.com through the school’s website. The school would then receive money from the advertisements that showed up on the Amazon website as the parents were logged in. It seemed to be an easy way to make money in these hard times. The raffle Julie mentioned would take place later in the year. They were currently surveying students, parents, and the community to see which would be a better raffle item, an Xbox 360 or an iPad. She mentioned that they had a raffle last year that made a lot of money for the library.

I enjoyed this blog post because, as I am sure you all can relate, budgets are being cut more and more each year. The government is asking us to do more teaching with less funding. In these difficult economic times, it is hard for both parents and teachers to reach into their own personal pockets and provide money for the items that the students need in the classroom. Julie offered many ways that she was saving money for her library and still being able to provide resources for her students and colleagues. Several of these suggestions she made will be able to crossover and adapt themselves to many schools. Already this year, we have had many fundraisers and are continuing to have fundraisers throughout the year. Those mentioned by Julie are just a few that schools across the country can use to help get through these difficult times.

Digital Citizenship

It is important to be a good digital citizen. The internet allows the entire world access to you, your thoughts, and your comments. In order to maintain your reputation both online and in person, you should always use good judgment in your actions and online posts. Too many times, people have gotten fired for using bad judgment when posting information about their work or personal life. Also, there have been instances when people have lost jobs or have hurt relationships when questionable pictures or information has been posted about them. In order to be a good digital citizen, your online actions should mirror the actions that you would do in person.

A good digital reputation will provide you with a network of people who will trust and care for you. Having a good digital reputation could provide access to new opportunities that would not be afforded to you elsewhere. For example, if you are someone who runs an online company, a good digital reputation would be extremely important for future business ventures. Once a person loses his digital reputation, it is almost impossible to gain a good reputation back.

Thinkport Technology

This week, we were to view the website www.thinkport.org/Technology/simulations.tp. We were to investigate some of the simulations. Unfortunately, the simulations link was broken but I viewed the main website itself. Two of the parts of the site I would use would be the Think Classroom and Think Technology parts. The Think Classroom page had many lesson plans that I could use in my instruction. It had videos that could be used along with lessons that I am already teaching. There were many different links to different internet sites that would be valuable. There was also a page with various themes that provided more information and resources on those themes.

The Think Technology offered many resources that I could use in instruction. There was a whole page devoted to graphic organizers that could be downloaded. We use many graphic organizers in reading and in science and social studies. There was also a games page which included different links to games that could be played online or customized to fit our classroom. There were podcasts and videos on many different subjects that could be used as resources in order to include those subjects in our teaching.

Software Review

For our week 3 blog, we are to answer the questions about the software review websites in our book Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching by M.D. Robyler and Aaron H. Doering. For this assignment, we evaluated SREB EvaluTech, California Learning Resource Network, SuperKids, and Education World. When searching for the SREB Evalutech, I found the actual website, but could not find any place where the site offered software reviews. I did learn that they had recently updated their website because I clicked a link and the page had been moved.

The California Learning Resource Network, SuperKids, and Education World websites all had numerous software reviews. They ranged their software from Pre-K through high school. The reviews were submitted by a team of educators from public and private schools, as well as educators from higher education institutions. Many of the reviews included a date that the review was posted, so users are able to see how recently the evaluation was submitted. I like that the California Learning Resource Network website included not only the California state standards, but also the common core standards in their software reviews. Knowing that the common core standards will be in effect next year, this website would help me to find software that was already geared to the standards. I would probably use the SuperKids website the most for software reviews. It was the most user-friendly and had an easy search engine for finding specific software. It also had more information for early childhood educators that would benefit me and my students.

Web 2.0 Resources

For the Web 2.0 Resources Project, I used the life cycle of a butterfly. In first grade science, students learn about the life cycles of different animals. I chose the butterfly because as it is turning colder outside, I wanted to think ahead to spring and summer again.

The first part of the project was to create a concept map. In my concept map, I included the different stages of the butterfly’s life cycle, and the main vocabulary terms.

The next part of the project was to use Glogster.com to create a Glog. Glogs are new to me. When using this site, I encountered some difficulties when trying to upload the video. I could not get the video to play the first few times I had attempted to work on the glog. Finally I left it and decided to come back to it later. The next time I attempted it, I got a pop-up note telling me that I could not watch the video in the preview mode. I was relieved that it was just a simple technical error that I had overlooked instead of a bigger problem. The glogster website was pretty easy to navigate. There were many graphics and images to choose from. I was a little disappointed with the graphics because many of them seemed more teen-friendly than child-friendly. I think that upper grade students could benefit from creating a glog or even having teachers use glogs in their instruction. The information could be presented on graphics that they tend to love and use in their own lives. This might make them more interested in the topic being studied.
http://aufan84.glogster.com/butterflies/


The third part of the project was creating a video using animoto.com. I enjoyed using the animoto website and feel that it will benefit me both personally and professionally. I feel that it can be used as an effective teaching tool. There are so many different things that children will be more interested in learning if they think they are watching a video. Being able to create and present a video about the different topics students are studying will allow teachers to be able to teach children using the technology that they love.

Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.

For the free choice part of the project, I chose to use the tikatok website. Through tikatock, students and teachers are able to create books using their own pictures, drawings, and words. Creating a book will allow students to express their creativity and internalize their learning. Having a book made by the class about the topic that has been taught will be a valuable resource. It was very easy to navigate and upload pictures and content. A possible disadvantage I see with using this in the classroom would be securing parental permission to publish the students’ work. Some parents may not want their child’s work published either online or in a book format. However, the benefits to publishing students’ work are so great, that hopefully all parents would give permission.

Why Let Our Students Blog?

1. Before starting the blog in ED 505, did you have a blog? Was it a personal blog or a professional blog?

2. Would you consider using a blog to interact with parents and students in your classroom?

3. What are three benefits of allowing students to blog about classroom projects?

4. After viewing the video, would you be more inclined to use blogging with the students in your classroom?

5. How can blogs be used as learning tools?

Introduction- Week 1

Hey, Everyone!

I am Ashley Babb. I am from Guin, Alabama. I received my Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education from the University of North Alabama. My husband and I have two nephews, a niece, and two kittens that we have spoiled rotten. I am currently in my fourth year of teaching first grade. I have taught fifth grade, third grade, and kindergarten. For me, first grade is my niche. I love seeing how my students progress through the year. They work so hard and absorb all that I try to teach them. They make so many changes that it is hard to believe they are still the same children they were at the beginning of the year. At that age they enjoy learning so much they do not even realize that they are learning.

In my first school, every classroom was equipped with a smart board, a laptop, and a video projector. I loved using those technologies in my classroom each day. In my current school, each teacher has the laptop, video projector, and an Elmo unit. These technologies have served my students well this year.

I look forward to working with all of you this term. Good luck to you!