An Ed Tech Journey... » General

Using Images in the Classroom

kelleral — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 17:23:14 +0000

It is important that as a future teacher I understand how to legally use images, and then require my students to use images legally.

Joey and April Working on Keyboarding Skills
by Extra Ketchup (Flickr)

For example, this image was found using a creative commons search on Flickr. Creative Commons is a way to reserve some rights of the things we create without keeping others from using them all together. This is an easy way to find images that it is okay for anyone to use, as long as they follow whatever requirements are set by the creative commons license.

This week in the classroom, I needed to explain to the class what the big dipper is. It came up in a story we were reading and students did not know what it was. I immediately did a google image search (and used the smartboard in the classroom so the students could connect the dots and make the shape of the dipper). After, I thought back to the discussions I had in CEP416 about using images. I did not republish the picture anywhere, or even use it in a powerpoint, so legally I was fine just showing the students this website. But, I modeled using google images to find an image without thinking about what the students would pick up.

Sometimes it is great to be able to take and use your own pictures. Other times, there is a place or phenomenon that we want our students to see that it is impossible to take pictures of ourselves. There are thousands of images available that can give our students the experiences we desire. We can put them on a
Download, etc. etc.

Online Calendars in the Classroom

kelleral — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 17:17:57 +0000

There are many benefits to using online calendars as a part of classroom management. These calendars will be useful to me as a teacher, my future students, other members of the school community including other teachers, family members, etc.

As a teacher, I can quickly and easily add things to my google calendars. I can set up different calendars for different classes, along with personal, and other calendars. This can also help me communicate with students and parents about what assignments are due, what is happening in class, and what special events or birthdays are coming up. The principal can subscribe to my class calendar and then know what days would be good to visit.

I remember in elementary school getting calendars all of the time. There was a lunch menu calendar, a class calendar, a school calendar, a district calendar, and more. Using online calendars, such as google calendar, can make these all available online, and easy to organize in one customizable place.

Using Bookmarks in the Classroom

kelleral — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 12:50:24 +0000

The internet is an amazing resource for classrooms and students, but it can be overwhelming. Not knowing where to go or how to consume the internet poses lots of potential problems from viewing inappropriate materials, to simply not learning anything from the experience. As a teacher I can use a social bookmarking site, such as del.icio.us, to organize the internet for myself and for my students. Having all of the useful sites I use in one place is what makes this appealing, but what could make it extrememly effective is the tagging and bundling features. I could tag things by a date I want students to visit the site, with unit names, as homework, and endless other ways to make them easily accessible to students and parents.

View my bookmarks.

Personalizing the Internet

kelleral — Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:24:38 +0000

There are many tools on the internet which allow an individual to mold the internet for their own use.

RSS feeds and aggregators allow a person to get the information they want pulled to one place. With these tools I can check new information on blogs, get updates from my favorite magazines and news sources, read event information in Detroit, etc. all in one location. I no longer have to visit each individual website or blog. Similarly, google alerts bring updates on selected search terms. iGoogle is a personal homepage which helps organize all of these things, and allows me to set up separate pages, add gadgets, a calendar, and more.

Typically, these resources are used to help an individual organize the internet in a way that helps him/her. The internet can also be personalized in this way for a class of students. Resources on studied topics could be collected in an aggregator, iGoogle pages could be created for each subject. The class could subscribe to other class blogs around the world. The possibilities, as usual with technology in schools, are endless.

Using Digital Portfolios

kelleral — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 18:00:46 +0000

I am in the process of creating a digital portfolio to publish work I have done over the course of my time at Michigan State University. I am putting up lesson plans, other teaching related papers and assignments, a poetry book I created and more. This serves as a way for me to reflect on what I have done and see how my teaching philosophies and abilities have changed over time. It is also a way for my family, friends, possible employers, etc. to see the work I have done. View my portfolio here.

Part of why it is important for me to have this portfolio is because I plan on using digital portfolios in my future classes. Having my own portfolio to show students will help demonstrate the possibilities and importance. Using portfolios with elementary students would create something longterm for students to look back at, save space in the classroom, and create all kinds of opportunities for multimedia creating, among other things. I am excited about the possibilities of using digital portfolios with my classes. This article helps explain these ideas.

Ideas for Using Blogs

kelleral — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 20:25:03 +0000

How can I use a blog as a teacher?

Test student understanding
Update parents
Homework directions
Teacher to Teacher blogs
Newsletter
Post resources or reminders
“About me” page
Discussion Board
Study Tips
Community Activities
Recommend Books
Update absent students
Organization

How can I have my students use blogs?

Post questions
Literary discussions
Journals
Profile
Personal interests
Connect to community
Pen Pals