Week 5 Reflections Digital Games

As a child and even today, I never had a passion for video games.  Although long ago, I loved playing Pac Man!

This week I had the opportunity to explore the Playful Learning website which was fantastic!  It is nice to have a site that has so many opportunities to research and explore at the same time.  I also liked the review feature as well.  This is a site I will definitely share with my staff.  I played a game that reinforced the concept of plural nouns.  You had to punch the correct noun that completed the sentence.   This is a game that definitely reinforces a Common Core standard for students.  It was fun and engaging.  I also liked learning about the other games people played and their reviews.

My philosophy on digital games in schools is very simple, it must have a connection to the curriculum that is taught within the classroom.  It may be a critical thinking game, content based, or artistic.

This year, I will be sending out a weekly blast to parents about digital games or Apps. that support or enhance learning at home.

Week #4 Reflections

This week I had the opportunity to explore and create my first Glog (Glogster).  I liked the web 2.0 tool and thought classroom teachers would be able to use this one page poster in a variety of ways.  I did struggle with how to use many of the tools but after playing around, I did get better at using it.  I have to say teaching yourself to use the many web 2.0 tools has been frustrating and a challenge.  Sure, you can go to YouTube and watch how to use the product.  However, I find value in learning new technology tools in Professional Development classes or courses.  We do this often in my district and teachers are teaching teachers.  They have that hands on instructor to answer a question immediately or show them how/what they may be doing wrong.
As this is only my second online course, I was very nervous and did not know what to expect.  I did watch the online videos Northeastern had on how to access the class and participate. I found these very helpful.  I do like the Discussion Boards and find they are meaningful and insightful.  My last class was in curriculum and Backwards Design.  We had students from all of the world and boy did they bring a global perspective that I never even new or thought about.  At times, I do miss the classroom and the face to face discussions.  The online classes provide an opportunity for me to take classes and still work which I find extremely beneficial.  I wonder what college will look like ten years from now.  Will students go to college to experience living away from home, managing their time, and make new friends face to face?  I worry that we may be coming to an era where students will do everything online.  What do you think?

Week #3 Reflections

Exploring new technology can be exciting and challenging at the same time.  As a look back over the past week, I can say that I spent an enormous amount of time researching the pros of using social media in schools and learning how to create my FIRST PREZI!  To me, using a Prezi for presentations is a step up from PowerPoint, it is a polished product and intriguing.  I like all the features it has and the amount of images you can upload at your fingertips.

This week, I also had the opportunity to participate in my first live "Tweet" sessions with students from Canada.  It was a little overwhelming and fast for me.  I felt like I was trying to digest a question and during that time, many responses to other questions/comments appeared on my screen.  I am not sure if that is how quick it goes every time but I can see how this may be challenging for young and old.

Lastly, after reading chapter 3, there was one area that really peaked my interest. The power of getting know students outside of the classroom and how this reflected over time to more engaged students within the classroom environment.  If you were a teacher, would you implement the two by ten strategy with a difficult or challenging student? Why or Why not???
Making personal connections with your students is HUGE in my book!

Technology As a Medium Week #2

As I reflect on week 2, I can definitely say I am Tweeting more and posting great information by following some well known educators.  I really liked following Vicki Davis and came across some great information (50 Must Read K-12 I.I Blogs 2014 EdTech) The resources are endless and unbelievable and I get excited about learning new things.  Just this past week, I also shared Scoop It with my assistant principal and new technology integration specialist.  They both really liked it and we all see the potential it can have for teachers and students in our school!  As with any piece of technology, you need to find a balance that works well for you in your job and personal life.  Technology is here to stay so, we need to embrace it and make sure it has a purpose in our classrooms. We also need to educate are young users on the dangers it can have but also the positives it can have on learning. I am thinking about the possibility of creating a twitter account in my school to use with teachers so we can share resources.  Has anyone done this in their school or place of work? How has it worked? Also, does anyone have a FaceBook page in their school? Do you use it for communication with parents? I do send out all my messages electronically through a tool called ConnectEd.

Week #1 Reflection

As I reflect over the past week of this class, I am excited to say that I have learned how to Tweet! Although, I am still catching on to the concept, I now know I need to # things in order for people to see my posts.  I learned about a new curation tool called Scoop It and did some research on Nicholas Negroponte who is a pioneer in the technology world.  His effort on getting one to one laptops to children all over the world was impressive and powerful.  I am excited to share this new tool with my teachers at school.  I feel they would see the value of researching different topics and having the information in one place for students to view. I can also use this at staff meetings to share new information we are researching or learning about.
Lastly, today I was reading the Boston Globe and read an interesting article on "Dawn of the Web", Two Decades ago, a strange thing called the Internet started to arrive in people's lives. What did it feel like in the moment? An oral history. By Leon Neyfakh.  I tried to Tweet this article but not sure if I am doing it correctly.  Hopefully some of you can read it.  It really connects to our class of when the internet began and fast forward to where we are today!  Wow!  It was only 1994 when it all began and I had only been out of college for one year. 
I like how this class is offering me new tools to integrate into my school and to share with staff. Great first week!