What tools
Thinking over this whole summer of “technology learning,” I think I can narrow what tools I will use in my classroom someday. There seem to be a few I do like but don’t know if I will actually use them. For example, they sound good but I don’t know how practical it would be. (This could just be because I haven’t been in the classroom enough to know.) But I do like the idea of using Web 2.0 and blogging. It seems as though students enjoy writing, even to the extent of long written stories, creative ones, and descriptive stories and even poems! It can be hard to motivate students to do so in class on paper. But if they can create their own on the computer (blogging) and then publish it on the internet – that seems to be exciting and motivating to them! Plus, it’s easy to use and free!
I could also see using Voicethread. At first I was nervous to use it, but after a few trials I was more confident. I love being able to do this by audio, video, and using pictures of your own. I would love to use it in my class for book reports or even projects that they would have to do over a specific historical event, place, or person. I like the versatility of students working on their own, or even collaboratively. It could be a great tool to use also for review. I would like to record myself going over the main points that they should know, and this way they can study at home more easily. It could very well motivate them to study! Or if a student misses a few days and needs caught up, I could use voicethread to help them. It just seems as though there is an insurmountable amount of possibilities to do with this, and I could see using it.
Something I will keep using after this class is Jing, my blog and website, as well as Aim (for messaging), and even the podcasts we listen to. I think I could continue learning much from podcasting that the others have posted. As for Aim, I enjoy the instant messaging that it is. I never have gotten much into it, but now I really like it. It’s been useful for me in this class too. I don’t know why, but I really liked jing! Even now, I randomly will video myself doing something on the internet. I think I could use this in my classroom sometime too! As for my blog and website, I want to continue to update that and improve the look, as well as continue to add things to it.
These are a few tools that I can see using in my classroom someday, as well as continue to use even for my personal use after this class.
