Oh wow! I'm starting to feel like I'm getting somewhere in the class and it's a really good feeling. Now my issue is that it is 84 degrees outside. I don't want to do work!!!!!! :) That's the kid in me coming out.
I am just about done with the website. I did a large chunk last weekend. I plan on wrapping it up this weekend. Maybe Sunday if it rains like it's supposed to....
I have worked out what I am doing my for my podcast but haven't done it yet. I think I am going to create a podcast for parents that could be posted on the class webpage that teaches some of the songs we do in the classroom. I think I will do this one on the spanish songs we do for the days of the week and months of the year. I will also give pronunciation of the words so that parents can practice at home with their children.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
March 16, 2010
Last night we had our first synchronous discussion. Wow! I have to say that I wish I had the guts Gerald and Whitney have. They did a great job leading the discussions. I missed the wrap up at the end. The kids were fighting and screaming. I think my husband was hiding somewhere else! :) They're fine by the way- just looking at each other wrong. Ugh!
I just wanted to comment on Wimba. I felt a bit overwhelmed at the beginning. I wasn't sure how to use it. As more poeple came on, it became a little confusing and I was glad that Gerald switched to text only. The talk function was a little jarring and distracting. Voices were delayed and we didn't know who was talking. I don't think it's a tool I could see myself using in the future.
However, once again, great job to the presenters!
I just wanted to comment on Wimba. I felt a bit overwhelmed at the beginning. I wasn't sure how to use it. As more poeple came on, it became a little confusing and I was glad that Gerald switched to text only. The talk function was a little jarring and distracting. Voices were delayed and we didn't know who was talking. I don't think it's a tool I could see myself using in the future.
However, once again, great job to the presenters!
Monday, March 15, 2010
March 15, 2010
Well I thought about the article from my last post quite a bit and I have come to realize that I don't like the idea at all. The cost can be staggering when you count the number of buses and the monthly access fees. I don't think it's a good idea to let kids roam free on the internet without adult supervision. I think that it is unfair to provide this extra study time to students who can afford to buy laptops and net books and leave those without the means to sit without it. I think that would build resentment and cause other troubles.
I also just finished my asynchronous discussion on using socail networking sites in the classroom. The general consensus was that it is not a great idea. People in my class tended to think that there were more issues that positives with using them in the classroom. Of course, we touched on the need to keep students from accessing other pages within Facebook. The biggest issue though, seemed to be the teacher/student relationship boundaries. I hadn't really given much thought to that angle before the discussion. That really made me see that social networking sites do not have a firm place in education, unless it is in higher education, where all parties involved are mature enough to use the site correctly. Working with kindergarteners has kept me from thinking about those types of issues, but they are very important to consider when working with teens. I think that there are other types of sites more appropriate for classroom use.
Have a great week everyone. Are you seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet? Still not very bright over here. :)
I also just finished my asynchronous discussion on using socail networking sites in the classroom. The general consensus was that it is not a great idea. People in my class tended to think that there were more issues that positives with using them in the classroom. Of course, we touched on the need to keep students from accessing other pages within Facebook. The biggest issue though, seemed to be the teacher/student relationship boundaries. I hadn't really given much thought to that angle before the discussion. That really made me see that social networking sites do not have a firm place in education, unless it is in higher education, where all parties involved are mature enough to use the site correctly. Working with kindergarteners has kept me from thinking about those types of issues, but they are very important to consider when working with teens. I think that there are other types of sites more appropriate for classroom use.
Have a great week everyone. Are you seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet? Still not very bright over here. :)
Monday, March 1, 2010
March 1, 2010
I just turned in my website design!!!!! Be still my butterflies!!! I hope it looks ok to Dr. Ingram. I can't wait to neve read another word about butterflies!!!!
So I saw an interesting news item today. A school district in Vail Arizona installed wi-fi on its school buses to create a rolling studyhall. It is commonplace there for students to take long bis rides and they often became rowdy and violent. The bus drivers are saying that they wifi has improved the students' behavior. They stated that the boxes cost 200 and monthy service ran 60.
I thought the idea of the "rolling studyhall" was a good one on the surface. I thought. "hmmm...interesting...." but as I fixed dinner and thought about it more, I found issues with it.
1. cost. 200 per bus and approximately 600 per year per bus in service fees. That's 800 per bus per school year. How many buses in this disctrict? It seems like a lot of money as an extra.
2. monitoring. How will the students be monitored? How do parents/teachers/admins know what is being viewed? Certainly the driver can't monitor. Even with parental controls and such, things get through. Are we letting busloads of students run free and unmonitored on the web?
3. have v. havenot. We have discussed again and again about students who don't have access at home to computers and technology. Are those studenst being left even further behind? Are they on this bus without a laptop or smart phone or other device? Are they even more excluded? But on the other hand, if there are computers available- is this giving them more time to have access if they don't have it at home?
I am still not totally sure how I feel about it. I keep thinking more as I process it further. Any thoughts from anyone else??
Take care and have a good day!!!
So I saw an interesting news item today. A school district in Vail Arizona installed wi-fi on its school buses to create a rolling studyhall. It is commonplace there for students to take long bis rides and they often became rowdy and violent. The bus drivers are saying that they wifi has improved the students' behavior. They stated that the boxes cost 200 and monthy service ran 60.
I thought the idea of the "rolling studyhall" was a good one on the surface. I thought. "hmmm...interesting...." but as I fixed dinner and thought about it more, I found issues with it.
1. cost. 200 per bus and approximately 600 per year per bus in service fees. That's 800 per bus per school year. How many buses in this disctrict? It seems like a lot of money as an extra.
2. monitoring. How will the students be monitored? How do parents/teachers/admins know what is being viewed? Certainly the driver can't monitor. Even with parental controls and such, things get through. Are we letting busloads of students run free and unmonitored on the web?
3. have v. havenot. We have discussed again and again about students who don't have access at home to computers and technology. Are those studenst being left even further behind? Are they on this bus without a laptop or smart phone or other device? Are they even more excluded? But on the other hand, if there are computers available- is this giving them more time to have access if they don't have it at home?
I am still not totally sure how I feel about it. I keep thinking more as I process it further. Any thoughts from anyone else??
Take care and have a good day!!!
Thursday, February 25, 2010
February 25, 2010
Things are looking good for the website. I think I've got a handle on the site itself. I just need to get approximately 15 extra hours in my day. :) I am just trying to work out how to do the assignment for next week. I'm not sure about how to do the story boards. I am not sure what exactly he is looking for. I've done a few pages on my site. I think I am on the right track.
I am behind on my blogs right now. I missed last week's. I don't know how I feel about it yet. I don't feel that I have much of value to discuss here on my blog, especially things that haven't been said in the discussion boards- by myself or others.
Anyway, have a great week!
I am behind on my blogs right now. I missed last week's. I don't know how I feel about it yet. I don't feel that I have much of value to discuss here on my blog, especially things that haven't been said in the discussion boards- by myself or others.
Anyway, have a great week!
Thursday, February 11, 2010
February 10, 2010
The WebQuest is going well. I think it's about done. Think being the operative word...
I work at the Y one night per week. I was there the other night and we had a meeting scheduled for the next day. We were all complaining about coming in during the middle of the day for less than an hour. I started laughing and said we could do a podcast and listen to the meeting on our regular shifts. I just thought it was funny to have it come up. Actually not a bad idea.... :)
Thanks to everyone who commented on the last post. I appreciate knowing that I am not alone in this confusion. I also appreciate the ideas and tips more than I can say! I'm just going to keep plugging away and do my best. It's really all I can do.
I work at the Y one night per week. I was there the other night and we had a meeting scheduled for the next day. We were all complaining about coming in during the middle of the day for less than an hour. I started laughing and said we could do a podcast and listen to the meeting on our regular shifts. I just thought it was funny to have it come up. Actually not a bad idea.... :)
Thanks to everyone who commented on the last post. I appreciate knowing that I am not alone in this confusion. I also appreciate the ideas and tips more than I can say! I'm just going to keep plugging away and do my best. It's really all I can do.
Monday, February 1, 2010
February 1, 2010
The discussion boards in Vista have me feeling muddled. There are so many discussion going on at once, I am not sure where to reply and most of what I have to say has already been said. I wish that we had one discussion per week rather than trying to wade through five discussions at once. I am better able to focus on and expand on one discussion at a time. Am I the only one feeling this lost? If so, I am in the wrong class....
The WebQuest is underway and off to a decent start. I'm very happy to have changed my focus for the assignment. Butterflies is working much better than bears. So far so...ok. I don't know- we'll see. :) I worked on it for about 6 hours last night.
The webpage is a different story all together! I have no idea where to take that one. I just looked over the assignment page again and I am at a complete loss. Around 1 am last night, I was wondering why in the world I wasn't working on the assignment that was due first. I decided that I just needed to make a dent in something...anything.
I just read over the discussion boards in vista. Everyone has a lot of great ideas for using wikis, blogs, and podcasts in their classrooms (and in business). I really liked the idea about using pseudonyms with discussion boards in the class. The teacher would be the only other person to know the pseudonym. This would allow the students to have some anonymity while discussing various topics with their peers, yet would still hold them accountable to the teacher for any inappropriate comments.
Inappropriate comments has actually been a worry that a number of people have expressed. I think that the teacher needs to be closely monitoring what is being posted as well as discussing expectations before beginning as well as reviewing those expectations often.
Wow! reading back over this post, I sound like Debbie Downer from SNL.
Hopefully can paint a rosier picture later in the week. Perhaps after I figure out my website proposal????? :)
The WebQuest is underway and off to a decent start. I'm very happy to have changed my focus for the assignment. Butterflies is working much better than bears. So far so...ok. I don't know- we'll see. :) I worked on it for about 6 hours last night.
The webpage is a different story all together! I have no idea where to take that one. I just looked over the assignment page again and I am at a complete loss. Around 1 am last night, I was wondering why in the world I wasn't working on the assignment that was due first. I decided that I just needed to make a dent in something...anything.
I just read over the discussion boards in vista. Everyone has a lot of great ideas for using wikis, blogs, and podcasts in their classrooms (and in business). I really liked the idea about using pseudonyms with discussion boards in the class. The teacher would be the only other person to know the pseudonym. This would allow the students to have some anonymity while discussing various topics with their peers, yet would still hold them accountable to the teacher for any inappropriate comments.
Inappropriate comments has actually been a worry that a number of people have expressed. I think that the teacher needs to be closely monitoring what is being posted as well as discussing expectations before beginning as well as reviewing those expectations often.
Wow! reading back over this post, I sound like Debbie Downer from SNL.
Hopefully can paint a rosier picture later in the week. Perhaps after I figure out my website proposal????? :)
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