Monday, February 15, 2010
Google Spreadsheets
Sunday, February 14, 2010
My Wiki screenshot!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Instructional Strategies and Web 2.0
For the more traditional teacher, that takes a "sage on the stage" approach, blogs would not be the most fitting. In these types of classrooms the teacher is often the facilitator and does the majority of the presenting. Students are to follow along in a more passive manner. It is possible that students could use blogs in this type of classroom as a reflection tool. They could publish a post on what they learned from a lesson, or post an answer to a problem. Yet, these methods do not utilize blogs to their fullest potential.
I can see blogs being used in my classroom in a few different ways. For science, students could create a blog about their science project and record their progress. Other students could comment on their ideas and give feedback along the way. Positive reinforcement by peers can have a huge impact on student success.
In math, my students have journals that they record daily practice problems or reflections. I would like to transfer that into a blog format and see how they do. The students could each have their own blog that they would post to. If they had questions on how to solve a problem they could comment on a peer's blog for help. I would ask that they comment on at least their math group member's blogs in order to provide feedback for each other.
Wow Wow Wikis!!
So, I must be honest in saying that I always considered wikipedia as somewhat of a fluke. This may be because my college professors always cursed at any mention of the site. But after taking the time to explore what it has to offer... I think it's a neat site that seems to run best off of collaboration as just about anyone can add to a page. I was surprised to see that the school I have worked at already had a page! I looked over the page for Fostoria High School and it seems to be very basic, yet accurate. I took the liberty of adding in a few external links. One to the school calendar so site visitors can look at upcoming events, and another link to the high school's actual webpage.
I then set-up a wiki of my own:
https://missg108.wikispaces.com/
I look forward to using this wikispace as another platform in which I can keep in contact with my students.
Monday, February 8, 2010
Computer-Based Instruction
I feel as if these actually take more planning, as I won't be able to pipe in with any comments when my students are working on these as I would if we were completing the lesson together as a class. Plain and simple, there needs to be a clear cut purpose and direction for students to follow in order for these to be a success. They need to be presented with all of the necessary components up-front to be able to complete this task independently. That can be quite a challenge to organize, but it will be rewarding in the end when students are able to utilize the web as a method of instruction.
While searching for webquests I found a site that actually showcases a collection of webquests broken down by subject area. I liked this site as it relates to my subject areas and grade levels. It is intended for elementary students so the webquests are written at their level. I was impressed with the content of the one on clouds, and noticed that it would also be visually pleasing for my students. I was also intrigued with one of the plants webquests as in incorporated literature into the procedures. I am a huge fan of tucking literary pieces into lessons. It adds a different dimension to things.Webquest site: http://www.bristolvaschools.org/mwarren/WebQuests.htm#SCIENCE