Blogging as a Teacher

Hello!

The blog Free Technology for Teachers  is a very informative blog filled with so many amazing resources! The one that popped out to me was There's a Poem for That! We are learning about writing poetry for our writing fair and this post discusses the Ted Talk series "There's a Poem for That." I can't wait to use these ted Talks in my classroom.

I would love to create a blog like this! Its always amazing when a teacher shares all the resources that they have found and use in their classroom. I could see myself creating a blog for students that has information that they could use and reference over the content that we are teaching in class. I could see making a blog by standard that has resources for them to practice at home. I feel like a blog that was relevant to their learning would also help their parents. One of the most common questions I get asked is how they can help their child when they aren't sure how to do that math or reading concepts on their own. If you had a blog with resources for parents and students to use when doing homework or reviewing skills I think parent involvement would increase. Blogs are also such an easy way to present and organize information. I could see creating a class blog where students are actually they ones who create the posts about their learning for the week and post pictures and information about what they have done in the classroom and what they have learned and taken away from the day. I would really like to incorporate a class blog into my classroom in the future.

Screencast

Hello! This entry is going to discuss using screencasts in the classroom. I had never made a screen cast before this assignment and am excited about making more to use in my classroom in the future. Screencasts can be used in many different ways including tutorials for parents and students, presenting or reviewing material in the class and also student project creation. I have attached a tutorial on this blog for how to login and use Khan Academy at home. I can see myself using screencasts in the future to make tutorials for parents to reference so they can see how to use the programs we use in class. I could also see myself making some tutorials on how to work out different types of math problems in my classroom so parents can reference them when helping their children on homework. I could also see the benefit of creating a screencast to cover information that is presented in class so students who are absent, or need extra review can access them from home. Another way I could see using screen-casting in the classroom is to have students create screencasts on how to use various programs or create projects. This would show that a student has a deep understanding of the content because they are able to present about it, but would also make it so other students have the ability to learn from their peers.

Adobe Spark

I was incredibly impressed with the simplicity of Adobe Spark. I could see using this tool as an introduction project for my students. It is incredibly simple to use and produces high quality images. Students could make posters or review images using this resource. The only real issue I could see with using this resource is the need for student accounts. Creating these accounts would be really tricky if students do not have an e-mail. You would need to create a class account for students to access. I believe with the simple platform you could use this with elementary aged students through high school aged students and across content areas.The best use I could see for this app is to create posters or review material for students to access. For anyone wanting to try it in the future, it is as easy to use in the web browser as it is to use on the app. In fact, I think the app is a little simpler to use. 

Animoto

Animoto would be a powerful tool to use in the classroom. Students will be able to make amazing presentations using a platform that is simple and engaging to use. Animoto has a wide range of applications in the classroom, from teacher to student use. Teachers can use it to create engaging introductions to content that is going to be studies, or review videos that they can place on a website for students to reference. Students could make presentations to illustrate their understanding of content across subject levels. Another benefit of Animoto is the wide range of stock images and video that make it ideal for elementary students. They can simply look up content using key words and place it in their video with their typed content. I am definitely going to be incorporating this resource in my class for student projects, and also to enhance my own instructional delivery. I plan to use this Animoto video at the beginning of the school year for two main reasons: to give them a preview of the content we will be studying in class, and also to give them an example of one of our projects for the year.


 

Article Review

Article Review 

The article I am reviewing is called “infusing classrooms with web 2.0 technologies” by Richard Carlos Velasco. 

The article is looking to provide teachers with research-based proof describing the effectiveness of incorporating Web 2.0 technologies in the classroom. 

The article focused on two Web 2.0 technologies: Blogs and Wikis. 

Both blogs and wikis promote student collaboration, cooperation and expressive and technical writing. 

Research has shown that blogging in the classroom actually led to higher academic performance in writing and science. 

They also both provide students with immediate feedback from peers and teachers. Both also have the added bonus of enhancing text-based communication, especially grammar and technical writing. 

The use of Blog and Wikis also leads to increased student engagement and also makes it easier for typically shy students to participate. 

This article highlights many important reasons for teachers to embrace the use of both Blogs and Wikis. In my own classroom, I could see incorporating both of these elements in various ways across all content areas. Students could use blogs as routine writing or classroom discussion on texts that have been read in class. I could also see students using a blog or wiki to respond and collaborate on math challenges.  

I agree with the research provided throughout this article and can see the relevance of its application in my own classroom. I think that the use of blogs and wikis will help students prepare for modern day challenges. 

In summary this article discusses the many benefits of blogs and wikis on student learning. 

More information on the benefits and various uses of blogs in the classroom can be found in the following articles: 

            

Why Blogging is so Valuable in the Elementary Classroom 

            

5 Reasons to use Blogging in the Classroom 

                        

Velasco, R. C. (2018). Infusing Classrooms with Web 2.0 technologies. Technology and Engineering Teacher,36-39. Retrieved March 13, 2019, from http://content.ebscohost.com/ContentServer.asp?T=P&P=AN&K=128057740&S=R&D=ehh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNHX8kSep7Q4y9fwOLCmr1Gep7dSsaa4SbKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMO7b8I3x6rmF39/sU Pa8QAA

Hello!

Hello! My name is Krystian Grace, but everyone calls me KC. I am a fifth grade teacher at Tularosa Intermediate School. Tularosa is a rural village in South Central New Mexico. I am a graduate of the University of New Mexico where I received my BS is Elementary Educations with minors in Science Education and TESOL. I have been teaching now for six years, and have taught both second and fifth grade.  I am second generation teacher, and education is extremely important in my family.  

Technology is one of my passions in education. I love to incorporate it in my classroom as much as I am able. I help the other people in my school with their technology, and have provided technology training to my colleagues. I am not a purest when it comes to PC vs. Mac. I own a Mac computer that I use at home, but do most of my work for school on a PC. I’m pretty flexible when it comes to technology. I am using one of the most current versions of Office on my personal computer, but our school district uses Office 2007. Unfortunately, our school is behind the times for technology.  In the classroom I have three “hive mind” desktops, a smart board that is hobbling along, a document camera and a lap top. I have access to digital cameras and digital video cameras. We have very minimal access to technology to rent in our school. There is one Laptop cart and one iPad cart. Our grade level is in the process of hunting down a grant for technology, so we can supplement technology in our grade level.

I decided to pursue my Master’s Degree at PSC because of the Technology Emphasis available for the Curriculum program. I also really liked that there was a Cohort option. I am not the best when it comes to online classes, so having the cohort option was an ideal situation for me.  I have been incredibly satisfied with my decision so far and have really enjoyed the structured aspect of the course work and also the class scheduling. I am hoping to use my degree to improve my classroom instruction, and help develop meaningful standard aligned curriculum for my grade level.