The final class of our Web 2.0 was enlightening. Seven of us presented ways that we were planning to or implementing several of the Web 2.0 tools that we learned in class. It was so interesting to see how different teachers used similar tools in different ways. Most of the presenters used wikispace.com to create a class website for posting important information, powerpoints, documents, images, etc., for their students and parents. I really liked Greg's interactive sites that he posted on his wikispace for his 8th grade social studies students. He spent a great deal of time searching for very interesting Civil War images interactive maps. Students will love this wikispace. I also thought that the teacher who used the wiki as a way to promote her swim team was innovative, especially the live clips of the swim meets. Overall, It was a great way to share ideas and see how far we had all come in the class.
On a personal note, I am very excited to put all of the tools to great use in my classroom. I just need to find a way to keep students from abusing the gmail feature during class. I got so excited that my students created google pages with all of the helpful tools, such as Blogger and Reader, but then I was disappointed when I walked around the classroom and found student GMail full of messages. Well, I will work on ways to slow that down next week.
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
How Web 2.0 Changed My Novel Unit Plan
Web 2.0 Technology Implementation in Novel Units
English 9/Honors 9
Technology Objectives
• Students will learn how to centralize their technology tools for their tablets by using gmail accounts, IGoogle, Google Reader, and Blogger for all school and personal work on tablets.
• Students will create a blog site through Blogger to write personal journal responses as assigned for the novel unit. A common theme will run through the blog journals, and that theme is the importance of family traditions and family relationship for teens today.
• The academic students will write blog journals related to Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns, and the honors students will write blog journals related to Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Both novels are “coming-of-age” stories about teen and young adult protagonists.
• Students will also implement some additional tools in their blog projects, including a podcast and a Picasa slide show related to one of their journals about family and friends.
• Lastly, students will comment on fellow students’ blog journals in a constructive way to build community in the classes.
Implementation of the Technology Plan
As we begin our novel unit in both the academic 9 classes and the honors 9 classes, we will spend the first lesson setting up a gmail account for each student and creating an IGoogle homepage. If we have time, we will add the Google Reader to homepage. Each student will create the gmail account with their John Carroll username and password. Also, students will only identify themselves with a first name and last initial. Also, students will set up permissions to only allow invited viewers to their Blogger site.
After the students have set up their accounts, they will then create a Blogger site to create a themed portfolio of blogs (journals) that they are required to write throughout the novel unit. Both novels present the theme of the importance of family traditions and ties to each other. The journals will not only react to certain aspects of the novel, but the blog journals may also be stories that the students share about their family life. In past years, students have created Family Scrapbooks with these journals and pictures. Now with Blogger, podcasting, and Picasa image sharing, students can create virtual Family Scrapbooks.
Once students have personalized their blog sites, then they will create at least one podcast using GCAST and Audacity. They will share a story orally. Also, students will create a slide show related to one of their journals or for their homepage of the blog site by using Picasa Image Sharing.
We have the luxury of every student having a laptop in class, but the beauty of these programs is that they can access them on any computer, so their projects will be readily available to them, and I believe that they will be proud of their creative work and their Web 2.0 expertise.
English 9/Honors 9
Technology Objectives
• Students will learn how to centralize their technology tools for their tablets by using gmail accounts, IGoogle, Google Reader, and Blogger for all school and personal work on tablets.
• Students will create a blog site through Blogger to write personal journal responses as assigned for the novel unit. A common theme will run through the blog journals, and that theme is the importance of family traditions and family relationship for teens today.
• The academic students will write blog journals related to Cold Sassy Tree, by Olive Ann Burns, and the honors students will write blog journals related to Their Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston. Both novels are “coming-of-age” stories about teen and young adult protagonists.
• Students will also implement some additional tools in their blog projects, including a podcast and a Picasa slide show related to one of their journals about family and friends.
• Lastly, students will comment on fellow students’ blog journals in a constructive way to build community in the classes.
Implementation of the Technology Plan
As we begin our novel unit in both the academic 9 classes and the honors 9 classes, we will spend the first lesson setting up a gmail account for each student and creating an IGoogle homepage. If we have time, we will add the Google Reader to homepage. Each student will create the gmail account with their John Carroll username and password. Also, students will only identify themselves with a first name and last initial. Also, students will set up permissions to only allow invited viewers to their Blogger site.
After the students have set up their accounts, they will then create a Blogger site to create a themed portfolio of blogs (journals) that they are required to write throughout the novel unit. Both novels present the theme of the importance of family traditions and ties to each other. The journals will not only react to certain aspects of the novel, but the blog journals may also be stories that the students share about their family life. In past years, students have created Family Scrapbooks with these journals and pictures. Now with Blogger, podcasting, and Picasa image sharing, students can create virtual Family Scrapbooks.
Once students have personalized their blog sites, then they will create at least one podcast using GCAST and Audacity. They will share a story orally. Also, students will create a slide show related to one of their journals or for their homepage of the blog site by using Picasa Image Sharing.
We have the luxury of every student having a laptop in class, but the beauty of these programs is that they can access them on any computer, so their projects will be readily available to them, and I believe that they will be proud of their creative work and their Web 2.0 expertise.
Picasa and Delicious - More Great Creative Web Tools
We had another great class last week in Web 2.0 in which we learned to use two more useful and interesting web tools -Picasa Web Images and Delicious Social Bookmarking. The class directions were clear, and before the night was through, we had created an online web album and a "Cloud" of categorized favorite bookmarks. I always leave the class anxious to try everything personally and with my students. This weekend, I actually used Picasa to upload many photos that I just took from a weekend getaway to Las Vegas (Baby)! I came right home on Sunday night, plugged in my digital camera to my laptop, opened Picasa and directly uploaded the digital images to Picasa, instead of adding them to my hard drive (which takes up so much memory). I then played around with captions and sent email invites to friends and family. It was easy, quick, and fun.
As for using Delicious, I still need to block out a good bit of time and categorize all of my favorite websites that I added to Delicious. I may need to do that over Easter break. I do see the benefit for tagging the bookmarks, but it takes time. I will spend some of my vacation evenings doing just that for future ease.
This week, I am allotting tech time with my ninth grade students to set up their gmail accounts, IGoogle page, Audacity, GCAST, and Blogger in order to create Blog Journal Portfolios for our current novel unit. I plan to share my initial lessons with our class this Wednesday.
Signing out.
As for using Delicious, I still need to block out a good bit of time and categorize all of my favorite websites that I added to Delicious. I may need to do that over Easter break. I do see the benefit for tagging the bookmarks, but it takes time. I will spend some of my vacation evenings doing just that for future ease.
This week, I am allotting tech time with my ninth grade students to set up their gmail accounts, IGoogle page, Audacity, GCAST, and Blogger in order to create Blog Journal Portfolios for our current novel unit. I plan to share my initial lessons with our class this Wednesday.
Signing out.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Social Bookmarking - Fun for Everyone!
Tonight, I just dowloaded Del.cio.us.com and looked up sites on Zora Neale Hurston. Wow, what an awesome internet tool. Del.cio.us also organized my existing bookmarked sites. What a great tool. I am always bookmarking sites, and then I can't remember what I have, so this will be the perfect solution. Also, I find it interesting that you can then "socialize" with your common marked sites. I also find this social aspect interesting on the uploaded photo tools, such as Flickr. I am not quite sure that I want to communicate with strangers out their who happen to see my photos or bookmarks, but I will think about it.
Setting up a podcast
Today, I added a podcast about Zora Neale Hurston's life and literary works to a new blog project that I am starting with my honors classes this week on the Harlem Renaissance and the novel Their Eyes Were Watching God. The students are creating powerpoints this weekend on different people of the Harlem Renaissance. They will present to the class early this week. I would like to have each of them write a script of a brief overview of their person's life and works. Then, I would like the students to create their own podcast on their important figure. I will have to get the students to start their Harlem Renaissance blog and set up the first blog as an introduction of the unit. Lastly, I will have students comment on another student's podcast blog. I am very excited to add this web 2.0 dimension to my current literature unit.
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