Midpoint Check

So far I've been feeling pretty good about this course.  I was nervous I would have a hard time picking up the new technological skills, but the format of the class and the interactive participation has really been helpful. I've appreciated the step by step instruction and the ability to try things out as we go.  It has also been fun to learn from other students and teach each other. 

I'm starting to think of more and more ways to incorporate the tools we've used into my future classroom.  Early on I had the idea that technology would isolate and separate individuals- relying on computers instead of communicating.  However, this class has shown me the opposite.  Many of the tools we've learned about offer collaboration and sharing, which is great to know!

Inquiry Based Activity

Two weeks ago we were assigned to make our own inquiry based activities. In my opinion, IBAs are worksheets that use the internet as the resource for finding the information.

I started the process of creating my IBA by choosing a subject.  I picked out a 5th grade Social Studies textbook. First I scanned the book and saw what topics were covered. After that I decided to make my IBA about the Great Depression.

Next I read the Tennessee State Standards and the NETS Standards to get an idea of what materials and facts needed to be included. While they are a little confusing, these standards are crucial to providing a even and high quality education to all students across the state. I selected the standards that applied to the Great Depression that I would be covering in my IBA.

Next I went on the hunt for an informative, clear, and age appropriate website to provide for my 'students' to use to complete the IBA. I wanted it to be easy to use, be all on one page, and be aimed for elementary aged kids.

From there I created a Google Doc and drafted up my IBA. I incorporated some multiple choice, short answer, and fill in the blank questions that required the students to really utilize and rely the website. I included an answer key, as well as the standards I used in the activity.

This activity was a great trial run at something I will use as a teacher.  Like WebQuests, IBAs provide a great mix of technology and curriculum for the teacher and students.

WebQuests

WebQuests are online activities where students use internet resources to answer questions and find information. I think that these activities provide a great bridge between the curriculum material and technology in the classroom.  Instead of having to make an additional assignment and allot extra time for technology, WebQuests allow students to practice and use technology while working on class material.

The components of a WebQuest are:

• Introduction 
• Task
• Process
• Resources
• Evaluation 
• Conclusion

Some things that surprised me about WebQuests:

• They are available for every subject/interest
• They are available for every grade level
• They allow group and/or individual work
• They offer both short and long term projects

I think that WebQuests offer a great deal of independence for students.  As I teacher, I would want to allow students to choose their own WebQuest.  That independence continues when they are able to navigate the internet on their own (with the guidance of the WebQuest). 

Google Docs

Google Docs is a web 2.0 tool, or a wiki.  It is an online document that can be accessed and modified by multiple users. A plus about this tool is that it is linked in with all of the other Google tools like Sites, Drive, and Gmail. This makes it really convenient to transfer, upload, and share documents and images between tools.

After learning about Google Docs, our Pixlr group used one to brainstorm and collaborate on an outline for our presentation. It was cool to have a resource like that! It was also good to practice using the tool.  Another pro was that we could all work on the document at the same time- one person didn't have to do all the work.

Like I said in my post about wikis, a fear I have about Google Docs is that since they can be edited by multiple users, it seems easy for someone's work to be deleted.  As far as I know there isn't a way to recover or view past work or changes, so that could be difficult. Another con for me is that there isn't a save button.  I know it says 'all changes saved', but I like the reassurance from actually pushing the button. 

Wikis

So far in the course we have used wikis in 3 ways: PBWorks, Google Docs, and ... I can't remember the other one! But I'm sure it's great!

Before this class I thought wiki just was a shortened version of wikipedia. Now I know that it is a web 2.0 tool, and that it is a website that multiple people can edit and share.

Between the two, I like Google Docs better than PBWorks.

• Google Docs:
• I think that Google Docs is more user friendly. It allows multiple people to type at one time, it has a clearer layout, and it provides ways to access other things like websites, Google Drive, emails, etc
• PBWorks:
• PBWorks seems less organized and less clear. I often forgot how to access PBWorks, and its multiple windows and pages were confusing. However, it does have great features and is more of a website than a document.

A downside I see in wikis is the risk of lost work.  Since multiple people can edit the document/page, it would be easy for a user to delete the work of another user.  This would be frustrating!

Pixlr

Last week our group was assigned to prepare a presentation on the website Pixlr.com, (specifically the express option). We decided to start out just playing around with the site, getting used to it and figuring out how it works. Through this, we learned many of Pixlr's pros and cons.  I've included my own list below.  I think that collages and the addition of text are the best aspects of this site for use in the classroom. Possible options could be: a collage of all students in the class with their names, stages of metamorphosis , different clouds with titles, planets with names, etc. A collage could be used to show pictures of a field trip or class project. Pixlr could also be used by the teacher to add text or upload pictures to her class website to give parents a look into the school day.


Pros
- fun and creative
- many options for editing/playing with pictures

Cons
- not much direction or explanation
- very easy to lose work
- difficult to undo something unless it was the last action performed

A few times I tried to click the back arrow to go back to previous work. This completely erases everything- not just your editing but the entire picture too.

The third con is my biggest issue with this website. I made a collage of the planets for my artifact. I put each planet in a box and pressed apply. Later I realized I put two of the planets in the wrong order, but there was no way to go back and correct the mistake, so I had to start over with a new collage. Then I added text and put it over each planet.  I decided later to adjust the size of one of the words, but there was no way to go back and adjust it, again to fix the problem I had to start completely over and make a new collage- adding all the pictures again and rewritting the text.  There may be some way to solve this but I could not find one. While we were able to come up with ways to use this site in the classroom, this challenge of 'undoing' work may pose a problem for students.  Kids make mistakes and need to learn how to correct them, but if they have to start over every time, they may become frustrated or confused (I did).