Here is the address for my final project.
www.geocities.com/kimberlyannkatz
Monday, May 7, 2007
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Laptops in Nigeria
When viewing the pictures of the students in Nigeria I felt so excited for them. Having this technology will change their educational system completely and in essence change their lives. This will allow them to expand their horizons and learn about so much more due to the vast information on the web.
I was a little concerned about the state of their school house though. It looks very run down and it made me wonder where they are going to store and protect their new computers.
Also, what's the story with the model homes that are shown in the pictures? Why doesn't anyone live in them.
I was a little concerned about the state of their school house though. It looks very run down and it made me wonder where they are going to store and protect their new computers.
Also, what's the story with the model homes that are shown in the pictures? Why doesn't anyone live in them.
Reaction To The Online Class
My experience with the online class was mostly a very positive one. I liked that there were choices and it had flexibility. I liked that I could pick what was most in tune with my learning style.
I enjoyed the flexibility of the assignment. Timing is always an issue for me in life. There is always a lot to accomplish and it never feels like enough time. I knew what I had to accomplish for this class and was able to fit it in at different points in my week. I was able to start and stop and break it up into manageable pieces. I also liked that there were choices. I was able to choose the podcasts that were interesting and pertinent to me. The only issue that I had with the flexibility was that it feeds into one of my weaknesses. I am a terrible procrastinator and put off for a week getting started. I was on vacation from school for over a week and didn't even start the work until the very end.
Everybody learns differently. I know that I am a visual and social learner. I chose to watch one podcast, listen to one podcast and I did one interactive experience in order to see the difference. I really enjoyed the video podcast and the interactive experience. I was interested and involved with both of them. I found that with the audio podcast I was distracted way too easily and occasionally I had to rewind to get back on track. The topic was interesting but I needed some visuals that went along with the talking in order to hold my attention better.
The main thing that was missing for me was the social nature of being in a classroom. I learn by listening and interacting with others. Very often I learn just as much from other student's questions as I do from the professor's lectures.
In general, I didn't expect the online class to take as long as it did. Even though I am a procrastinator and even though I am easily distractable, I also become very involved in assignments that I participate in. I found at times that I got extremely carried away. The time that I spent was way longer than even 2 class periods. Alan Levine's expedition took me many more hours than it probably should have because I was so enthralled with the many interesting things that he presented. I also became very carried away with my blog.
I feel that the online class was time well spent but I don't feel that it is a good option for me in the future. I get too carried away with things that I'm interested in and would end up spending too much time on the class if I took an entire online class. I would neglect other things because I'd rather spend time on the classwork.
I enjoyed the flexibility of the assignment. Timing is always an issue for me in life. There is always a lot to accomplish and it never feels like enough time. I knew what I had to accomplish for this class and was able to fit it in at different points in my week. I was able to start and stop and break it up into manageable pieces. I also liked that there were choices. I was able to choose the podcasts that were interesting and pertinent to me. The only issue that I had with the flexibility was that it feeds into one of my weaknesses. I am a terrible procrastinator and put off for a week getting started. I was on vacation from school for over a week and didn't even start the work until the very end.
Everybody learns differently. I know that I am a visual and social learner. I chose to watch one podcast, listen to one podcast and I did one interactive experience in order to see the difference. I really enjoyed the video podcast and the interactive experience. I was interested and involved with both of them. I found that with the audio podcast I was distracted way too easily and occasionally I had to rewind to get back on track. The topic was interesting but I needed some visuals that went along with the talking in order to hold my attention better.
The main thing that was missing for me was the social nature of being in a classroom. I learn by listening and interacting with others. Very often I learn just as much from other student's questions as I do from the professor's lectures.
In general, I didn't expect the online class to take as long as it did. Even though I am a procrastinator and even though I am easily distractable, I also become very involved in assignments that I participate in. I found at times that I got extremely carried away. The time that I spent was way longer than even 2 class periods. Alan Levine's expedition took me many more hours than it probably should have because I was so enthralled with the many interesting things that he presented. I also became very carried away with my blog.
I feel that the online class was time well spent but I don't feel that it is a good option for me in the future. I get too carried away with things that I'm interested in and would end up spending too much time on the class if I took an entire online class. I would neglect other things because I'd rather spend time on the classwork.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Kathy Cassidy: Using Web 2.0 Tools in a Grade One Classroom
Summary and reaction to:
Kathy Cassidy Using Web 2.0 Tools in a Grade One Classroom
Mrs. Cassidy used a podcast to talk us through her blog and the different tools that she and her students used to create it.
She started by introducing her blog and explaining that she used Blogmeister. She mentioned that David Warlick set it up and she said that he could do it for us too if we emailed him.
Mrs. Cassidy used the blog to communicate with parents. She also had a personal blog for each child in the class that she moderated. Anything that children wanted to post was sent to her first and then she gave the final 'ok' before it was posted on the web.
Mrs. Cassidy then talked us through a child's blog. She showed us their writing, drawings and podcasts. She mentioned that students really liked that they could see how many people read their blogs. It encouraged them to post more and it validated the work that they did. They were excited to receive comments from people they knew and people that were too far to meet.
The class had a lot of communication with a class in New Zealand and were able to share their blog with them. The people in New Zealand would post comments and would share information about their home area. This 'friendship' gave these students an exciting and engaging introduction to a new place.
The pictures that were posted on the blogs were posted using Flickr. Many of these pictures were created using Kidpix and then posted on Flickr. Mrs. Cassidy mentioned that to post pictures on the blog using Flickr you must first add them to Flickr. Then select the size that you want and then cut and paste the html that Flickr provides into the blog.
She also explained about using Audacity for the podcasts that were posted on the site. This site also provides a URL that you enter into the blog that links you to the podcast.
Another web tool that was used was Bubbleshare. She explained that it was like a virtual book or slideshow of pictures. This site also provides a html to enter into the blog that links you to the share.
The last web tool that she mentions using is a wiki. She used it with a small group of students. They wrote stories together. The only downside that she mentioned was that only one person can use it at a time.
Mrs. Cassidy mentioned that these web tools inspired her students to learn. I'm really not surprised. Whenever I present something new and interesting to my students it always excited them. I think that if I could find a way for technology to work for me then my students would love it. I may want to try a blog in my class next year. It would be fun and interesting to see how it goes. I especially think that I could use it for a place to put homework online. Each day the blog could be updated by me or a student and then students could access it at home.
The one concern that I had was that a child would post something inappropriate if not being watched closely. Blogmeister's option of having the student's posts sent to the teacher before posting is great. I love the idea of checking over the student's posts before they are posted. That feature would be a must for me if I ever set up a class blog.
I don't feel that I learned too many new things from this podcast. I think that it is because I have been in the class for a couple of months and also because I did the 2 other parts to this assignment first. Although I didn't learn anything new, it was nice to see how it can be used in a lower level classroom.
Kathy Cassidy Using Web 2.0 Tools in a Grade One Classroom
Mrs. Cassidy used a podcast to talk us through her blog and the different tools that she and her students used to create it.
She started by introducing her blog and explaining that she used Blogmeister. She mentioned that David Warlick set it up and she said that he could do it for us too if we emailed him.
Mrs. Cassidy used the blog to communicate with parents. She also had a personal blog for each child in the class that she moderated. Anything that children wanted to post was sent to her first and then she gave the final 'ok' before it was posted on the web.
Mrs. Cassidy then talked us through a child's blog. She showed us their writing, drawings and podcasts. She mentioned that students really liked that they could see how many people read their blogs. It encouraged them to post more and it validated the work that they did. They were excited to receive comments from people they knew and people that were too far to meet.
The class had a lot of communication with a class in New Zealand and were able to share their blog with them. The people in New Zealand would post comments and would share information about their home area. This 'friendship' gave these students an exciting and engaging introduction to a new place.
The pictures that were posted on the blogs were posted using Flickr. Many of these pictures were created using Kidpix and then posted on Flickr. Mrs. Cassidy mentioned that to post pictures on the blog using Flickr you must first add them to Flickr. Then select the size that you want and then cut and paste the html that Flickr provides into the blog.
She also explained about using Audacity for the podcasts that were posted on the site. This site also provides a URL that you enter into the blog that links you to the podcast.
Another web tool that was used was Bubbleshare. She explained that it was like a virtual book or slideshow of pictures. This site also provides a html to enter into the blog that links you to the share.
The last web tool that she mentions using is a wiki. She used it with a small group of students. They wrote stories together. The only downside that she mentioned was that only one person can use it at a time.
Mrs. Cassidy mentioned that these web tools inspired her students to learn. I'm really not surprised. Whenever I present something new and interesting to my students it always excited them. I think that if I could find a way for technology to work for me then my students would love it. I may want to try a blog in my class next year. It would be fun and interesting to see how it goes. I especially think that I could use it for a place to put homework online. Each day the blog could be updated by me or a student and then students could access it at home.
The one concern that I had was that a child would post something inappropriate if not being watched closely. Blogmeister's option of having the student's posts sent to the teacher before posting is great. I love the idea of checking over the student's posts before they are posted. That feature would be a must for me if I ever set up a class blog.
I don't feel that I learned too many new things from this podcast. I think that it is because I have been in the class for a couple of months and also because I did the 2 other parts to this assignment first. Although I didn't learn anything new, it was nice to see how it can be used in a lower level classroom.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Alan Levine: I Didn't Know You Could Do THAT With Web Tools!
Summary and reaction to:
Alan Levine: I Did Not Know You Could Do THAT With Free Web Tools!
To start, I found it very difficult to understand what we were supposed to do. It took me over an hour to find all the pieces and figure out what to do with them. Once I got started I found it to be very interesting though. I liked that it gave us a chance to learn and practice with many different tools.
It started with a brief podcast introduction on YouTube to the 'expedition' that Mr. Levine has set up for us. He talked about how to use YouTube, advised that if you are webcasting to use a script and then talked about some safety suggestions. Using pseudonyms was my personal favorite. I worry about the safety of my students online and like the idea of them hiding their identity when online.
I then moved into his wikispace which helped me to understand what I was doing. He gave a nice overview of the layout of the 'expedition' and had links to where to find everything. I think that I would have preferred to start there rather than with the YouTube video.
Next was Flickr. Before using his hands on tutorial I had thought that Flickr was a site to post my picture to share with my friends. Now I realize that it is so much more. I like that I can organize and label my pictures. I like that I have access to others' pictures and can search though them using labels and if I find one that I like I have permission to use it. My two favorite parts of Flickr were the Retriever and Spell with Flickr. Retriever was fun to play around with. I drew a few things and found multiple pictures that resembled what I drew. When I tried Spell With Flickr I spelled Ms. Katz Class. I thought that it was very cool that it was different each time and you could also change the letters individually if you didn't like some of the ones that they chose.
I'm like Mr. Levine and can't draw. So, Gliffy was a very good find for me. I played around for a little with it. I really could have used this tool recently when I created some charts for my students to use. I created the ones that I did using the drawing tool in Word. This would have saved me a lot of time. I created the same chart that I had already created in Word in under 10 minutes. I'll definitely use this tool in the future the next time I need to create charts and possibly other things.
Here is my chart:http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1207020/
Next came del.icio.us. Mr. Levine tagged so many interesting sites. I looked at many of them but realized that I was getting distracted from my initial project so I decided to come back and look at a later date. Of the ones that I looked at my favorite was http://www.zamzar.com/. I had been looking for a site that can change the format of music. I know that this trial wasn't directly related to school work but you never know when you might need a file change for the classroom. The best part was that it worked which so many other programs that I tried recently didn't!
I was unimpressed with Mr. Levine's presentation in slideshare. Maybe I just didn't understand it. It seemed like a slideshow without the commentary. Maybe I just couldn't figure out how to play the commentary. I did try though. He did introduce some new and interesting sites to look at in the slide show.
Overall I liked the interactive experience that Mr. Levine provided very much. I learned a lot, got to try new things and found many things that I will continue to use in the future. I found that I was very involved and at times got carried away with all the new things to look at and try out.
Alan Levine: I Did Not Know You Could Do THAT With Free Web Tools!
To start, I found it very difficult to understand what we were supposed to do. It took me over an hour to find all the pieces and figure out what to do with them. Once I got started I found it to be very interesting though. I liked that it gave us a chance to learn and practice with many different tools.
It started with a brief podcast introduction on YouTube to the 'expedition' that Mr. Levine has set up for us. He talked about how to use YouTube, advised that if you are webcasting to use a script and then talked about some safety suggestions. Using pseudonyms was my personal favorite. I worry about the safety of my students online and like the idea of them hiding their identity when online.
I then moved into his wikispace which helped me to understand what I was doing. He gave a nice overview of the layout of the 'expedition' and had links to where to find everything. I think that I would have preferred to start there rather than with the YouTube video.
Next was Flickr. Before using his hands on tutorial I had thought that Flickr was a site to post my picture to share with my friends. Now I realize that it is so much more. I like that I can organize and label my pictures. I like that I have access to others' pictures and can search though them using labels and if I find one that I like I have permission to use it. My two favorite parts of Flickr were the Retriever and Spell with Flickr. Retriever was fun to play around with. I drew a few things and found multiple pictures that resembled what I drew. When I tried Spell With Flickr I spelled Ms. Katz Class. I thought that it was very cool that it was different each time and you could also change the letters individually if you didn't like some of the ones that they chose.
I'm like Mr. Levine and can't draw. So, Gliffy was a very good find for me. I played around for a little with it. I really could have used this tool recently when I created some charts for my students to use. I created the ones that I did using the drawing tool in Word. This would have saved me a lot of time. I created the same chart that I had already created in Word in under 10 minutes. I'll definitely use this tool in the future the next time I need to create charts and possibly other things.
Here is my chart:http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1207020/
Next came del.icio.us. Mr. Levine tagged so many interesting sites. I looked at many of them but realized that I was getting distracted from my initial project so I decided to come back and look at a later date. Of the ones that I looked at my favorite was http://www.zamzar.com/. I had been looking for a site that can change the format of music. I know that this trial wasn't directly related to school work but you never know when you might need a file change for the classroom. The best part was that it worked which so many other programs that I tried recently didn't!
I was unimpressed with Mr. Levine's presentation in slideshare. Maybe I just didn't understand it. It seemed like a slideshow without the commentary. Maybe I just couldn't figure out how to play the commentary. I did try though. He did introduce some new and interesting sites to look at in the slide show.
Overall I liked the interactive experience that Mr. Levine provided very much. I learned a lot, got to try new things and found many things that I will continue to use in the future. I found that I was very involved and at times got carried away with all the new things to look at and try out.
Monday, April 9, 2007
John Pearce: It's Elementary Kids, Working Web 2.0 With Grade 3-4
Summary and Reaction to:
John PearceIt's Elementary Kids, Working Web 2.0 With Grade 3-4
Mr. Pearce's podcast was a summary of his experiences with different Web 2.0 technologies. More specifically it was what he and his students did with blogs, wikis and podcast.
He took us through a year of his experiences starting from his blog and the difficult choices he made to find the right one, setting it up and ironing out the kinks. He then tried to spread the word and knowledge to his (sometimes) resistant colleagues. He then talked us through what he did with wikis and podcasts. After a bit of experiences with his students he then adjusted his program choices in order to find programs that fit his and his students needs better. In the end he evaluated his work and his student's reactions to the use of these technologies in their classroom.
Overall it seemed that the students enjoyed the experience and recommended that he do it again in the future. I have to admit though that I'm not entirely convinced. I'm not sure whether the time that it takes to teach these programs out weighs the benefit of using them in the room. It takes a lot of valuable class time, that I never seem to have enough of, in order to teach these programs. I wonder how much time Mr. Pearce spent on this and what, if anything, was pushed out of the curriculum in order to do this.
It also brings a question to mind: what about the students that can't afford to have computers at home? Mr. Pearce acknowledges how to solve the problem of lack of internet. But what about the ones with out computers entirely. I work in a school that has these students. I don't want to make them feel inferior in any way.
One thing that Mr. Pearce mentioned that I really liked is that he had parents sign releases that stated that their child's work could be published on the internet. I feel that it was very responsible for him to do that. In general it makes me nervous to put children and their work in a public place. There are too many child predators in the world and I would never want to subject my children to them.
Mr. Pearce did mention one way that I could foresee using podcasts in my classroom. He spoke about a unit of writing about script writing. I think that would be fun and interesting for kids to do and they would learn a lot. This would work with the way that we teach writing in the classroom and making the podcast could be the way that we publish our completed work.
I'm glad that Mr. Pearce's students enjoyed their experiences with blogs, wikis and podcasts. I'm not sure that at this time I'd like to try using them the way that he has described but I'm looking out for ways that will work for me.
John PearceIt's Elementary Kids, Working Web 2.0 With Grade 3-4
Mr. Pearce's podcast was a summary of his experiences with different Web 2.0 technologies. More specifically it was what he and his students did with blogs, wikis and podcast.
He took us through a year of his experiences starting from his blog and the difficult choices he made to find the right one, setting it up and ironing out the kinks. He then tried to spread the word and knowledge to his (sometimes) resistant colleagues. He then talked us through what he did with wikis and podcasts. After a bit of experiences with his students he then adjusted his program choices in order to find programs that fit his and his students needs better. In the end he evaluated his work and his student's reactions to the use of these technologies in their classroom.
Overall it seemed that the students enjoyed the experience and recommended that he do it again in the future. I have to admit though that I'm not entirely convinced. I'm not sure whether the time that it takes to teach these programs out weighs the benefit of using them in the room. It takes a lot of valuable class time, that I never seem to have enough of, in order to teach these programs. I wonder how much time Mr. Pearce spent on this and what, if anything, was pushed out of the curriculum in order to do this.
It also brings a question to mind: what about the students that can't afford to have computers at home? Mr. Pearce acknowledges how to solve the problem of lack of internet. But what about the ones with out computers entirely. I work in a school that has these students. I don't want to make them feel inferior in any way.
One thing that Mr. Pearce mentioned that I really liked is that he had parents sign releases that stated that their child's work could be published on the internet. I feel that it was very responsible for him to do that. In general it makes me nervous to put children and their work in a public place. There are too many child predators in the world and I would never want to subject my children to them.
Mr. Pearce did mention one way that I could foresee using podcasts in my classroom. He spoke about a unit of writing about script writing. I think that would be fun and interesting for kids to do and they would learn a lot. This would work with the way that we teach writing in the classroom and making the podcast could be the way that we publish our completed work.
I'm glad that Mr. Pearce's students enjoyed their experiences with blogs, wikis and podcasts. I'm not sure that at this time I'd like to try using them the way that he has described but I'm looking out for ways that will work for me.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Reaction to 'Did you Know?' by Carl Fisch
Will these facts and predictions affect schools?
Absolutely. These facts are amazing. I can’t believe how fast information grows and changes and how the world is growing and changing.
One fact that struck me as interesting was that we are preparing children for jobs that don’t exist yet. It really reinforces for me the idea of preparing them to be smart thinkers about whatever it is that they are working on. Whether it be history, science, math or stories it’s important that they can think critically about what they are learning about.
I also found it interesting that knowledge becomes obsolete very quickly. It reinforces the idea of needing to be a lifelong learner. No matter whom you are or what you do in life you need keep up with the times intellectually.
Absolutely. These facts are amazing. I can’t believe how fast information grows and changes and how the world is growing and changing.
One fact that struck me as interesting was that we are preparing children for jobs that don’t exist yet. It really reinforces for me the idea of preparing them to be smart thinkers about whatever it is that they are working on. Whether it be history, science, math or stories it’s important that they can think critically about what they are learning about.
I also found it interesting that knowledge becomes obsolete very quickly. It reinforces the idea of needing to be a lifelong learner. No matter whom you are or what you do in life you need keep up with the times intellectually.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Staying on vs. leaving the tracks
I found the David Warlick video quite interesting and at times slightly frustrating. I am a firm believer in sidetrips but feel that there is too much expected of teachers to make them too lengthy and to make them common occurances.
Before my school year begins I know that I have to complete 8-12 units in each subject area. Most of them last 3-4 weeks each. That's a lot to accomplish in a school year. Most years I accomplish it all. But, as a free thinking teacher and curious human being I understand the value of side trips. Each year I feel that I can fit in only one medium length side trip that spreads thoughout each school year and a few small ones sprinkled in.
I found what David said to be slightly frustrating at times because I felt that he was preaching to the choir. I would love to let my kids go on side trips all year long. I would love if they could guide the curriculum and decide what they want to learn about. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. I have administrators that tell me what to do and they have administrators above them that tell them what to do.
Overall I love the concept of sidetrips and will continue to include them in my school year whenever I can find the time. I find them exciting and empowering for the students and it's a nice change from the usual for all of us.
Before my school year begins I know that I have to complete 8-12 units in each subject area. Most of them last 3-4 weeks each. That's a lot to accomplish in a school year. Most years I accomplish it all. But, as a free thinking teacher and curious human being I understand the value of side trips. Each year I feel that I can fit in only one medium length side trip that spreads thoughout each school year and a few small ones sprinkled in.
I found what David said to be slightly frustrating at times because I felt that he was preaching to the choir. I would love to let my kids go on side trips all year long. I would love if they could guide the curriculum and decide what they want to learn about. Unfortunately it doesn't work that way. I have administrators that tell me what to do and they have administrators above them that tell them what to do.
Overall I love the concept of sidetrips and will continue to include them in my school year whenever I can find the time. I find them exciting and empowering for the students and it's a nice change from the usual for all of us.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Helpful websites
www.brainpop.com
This website is designed for kids. It has cartoon videos that teach about subjects that are interesting to kids. Each topic has some free videos and there are also videos that you can pay to see. It also has quizzes that the students can take after watching the video to see what they've learned. This site is highly recommended by my students.
www.quizlet.com
This website is designed to help learn vocabulary or data. You enter the words or data that you want to learn and it tests you on it. It's like flashcards but on the computer.
www.classroomdirect.com
This is my favorite site to buy supplies for my classroom. They have teaching tools as well as basic supplies. They typically have competitive prices.
This website is designed for kids. It has cartoon videos that teach about subjects that are interesting to kids. Each topic has some free videos and there are also videos that you can pay to see. It also has quizzes that the students can take after watching the video to see what they've learned. This site is highly recommended by my students.
www.quizlet.com
This website is designed to help learn vocabulary or data. You enter the words or data that you want to learn and it tests you on it. It's like flashcards but on the computer.
www.classroomdirect.com
This is my favorite site to buy supplies for my classroom. They have teaching tools as well as basic supplies. They typically have competitive prices.
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Sir Kenneth Robinson Speech
Schools of the Future – Sir Kenneth Robinson
Kenneth said that creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated that way. I agree but feel that they should not be separated. The two should be used in an interconnected way. Literacy is a very important skill. Children need to read and write in very sophisticated ways. Creativity could aid that. Children can have creative ideas about what they’ve read and can use their creativity in their writing. Creativity could also aid mathematics work. Students could problem solve better if they were given more time to think creatively about the work that they are doing.
It was very interesting to hear the story of the choreographer. Very often my students are diagnosed as ADD or ADHD. Sometimes they are put on medicine and other times they have to suffer in an environment that doesn’t work with who they are. I wish that there were more opportunities for children to be in environments that are right for them. It will make more students feel successful and confident in their abilities.
I wonder what schools will be like 20 or so years from now…Computers on each desk? Remote learning? Who knows?
Kenneth said that creativity is as important as literacy and should be treated that way. I agree but feel that they should not be separated. The two should be used in an interconnected way. Literacy is a very important skill. Children need to read and write in very sophisticated ways. Creativity could aid that. Children can have creative ideas about what they’ve read and can use their creativity in their writing. Creativity could also aid mathematics work. Students could problem solve better if they were given more time to think creatively about the work that they are doing.
It was very interesting to hear the story of the choreographer. Very often my students are diagnosed as ADD or ADHD. Sometimes they are put on medicine and other times they have to suffer in an environment that doesn’t work with who they are. I wish that there were more opportunities for children to be in environments that are right for them. It will make more students feel successful and confident in their abilities.
I wonder what schools will be like 20 or so years from now…Computers on each desk? Remote learning? Who knows?
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