After 11 Tools: Reflections

My favorite tools are Photo Story and Video Resources. I can envision our students creating projects and incorporating them into a variety of subject areas. The teacher would be able to integrate different subject matter such as gross motor skills, fine motor skills, music, art, math, etc.

~ To get through the hardest journey we need take only one step at a time, but we must keep on stepping ~ Chinese Proverb

This entire journey was difficult for me. As a school administrator, I don't get to apply a lot of classroom technology. A lot of the tools were new and challenging for me. I must say that I am glad and I have no regrets about taking this summer journey. I have often told my teachers that they will not do anything that I would not do myself. I know firsthand what my teachers went through. This technology awareness will also support my classroom walk throughs.

Tool 11: Digital Citizen

These technologies are neither good or bad its only how you make them so. As teachers, it’s up to us to help our children understand the consequences of their actions and prepare them for the facts of life. We have to help them think long term.

Here are three things I would want to make sure my students understood about being a good digital citizen:
1. Anything you say or do can be copied, pasted, and sent to millions of people without your permission.
2. If you don’t want it done to you, don’t do it to someone else.
3. Just because it’s online does not make it true.

Teachers can support and demonstrate student learning on how to become a digital citizen by modeling appropriate behaviors in the classroom.

Tool 10: Exploring Mobile Technology And Apps

Are you interested in space? There some apps from NASA that our kids would love to explore. The videos and images are incredible. The use of the apps would make learning fun, real and keep students engaged.

Shape Builder educates and is entertaining. It encourages thinking and fine motor skills. It is fun and engaging format with many fun sound effects.

The wow moment came when I was able to download several Top 50 Free Education Apps and begin adding to my library in “Tunes”: NASA, Space Images, Alphabet Tracing, Dot To Dot Numbers, Shape Builder etc.

Tool 9: Sharing Information Through Jing & Skype

Jing is new to me. I can see the many uses that can be utilized in the classroom. I could see it being used when a teacher is going to be out. A teacher could use it to leave "notes" for the students she teaches at school. Jing provides instant message chats. You can take a quick screenshot or video and post the link in your chat message.

Skype is one more tool for communication. I do not have it downloaded, but a friend of mine has been using Skype for many years to communicate with her family and friends from Costa Rica. Skype could also be used by a teacher unable to come to the classroom. The teacher would able to communicate with the students while still being out. Finally, students could collaborate with other classes across the country or world.

Tool 8: Videos are Useful Resources

My two videos were focused on a science unit on animals. I love the first video on “Animal Sounds” being portrait by early childhood students. The teacher was able to integrate a variety of subject matter such as gross motor skills, fine motor skills, music, art, math etc. This would be wonderful way to close a science unit on animals!



Teachers could preview this second video and come up with questions for the students to answer as the video plays. The questions don’t need to be hard, but they should be questions the students can only answer by watching the video.

Tool 7: Creating Digital Stories

Hallelujah! This was quite an adventure. I must say that this cumbersome journey did serve its purpose. I learned how to incorporate a variety of technology resources into this digital storytelling project. It will be powerful to witness our children having opportunities of creating digital stories through PhotoStory. The evidence will show on their increase growth of listening, speaking, reading and writing. These types of experience with technology resources will set them up for their future academic success.

Popcorn ready! Let's view "Valentine's in Vegas".

Tool 6: Wikis

Fabulous website, I am joining their Wiki…. http://littlepawspreschool.wikispaces.com/

I navigated through the Wiki sites. Indeed, there are many educational resources that are useful for teachers sharing and storing formation and great places for students to work together. The collaboration piece is what makes it powerful. Students and teachers are engaged in sharing, learning and reflecting ways.

1. Teacher applications: roadmapping, agendas, discussions of balance literacy
   
2. Classroom applications: projects, writing books, discussing Big Books for Shared Reading http://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Technology_in_the_classroom