reader

So, sometimes, I just love going into Google Reader and checking my little numbers to see what's new for the day.  I have to admit, I like seeing the numbers get down to zero by quickly skimming what has been updated.  I do get distracted every once and a while and have to read the article thoroughly because I become hooked.  I think it's a great way to find new things I might otherwise have overlooked.

I have added a bunch of Ed. Tech. blogs and elementary teacher blogs which I enjoy reading.  There are tons of resources provided by all of them that it is hard for me to keep up and remember all the good stuff.  I can never remember something when I need to use it.  I have found loads of free technology resources through the Free Technology for Teachers blog and it really blows my mind that most teachers (well, ones that I work with) do not know about the majority, if any, of these things.  I wish there was some easy way to inform them about all of these "new" tools and get them "on board." All of this information and these tools are out there for all to see, and yet so few actually take advantage or know how to access it.  I admit, before this class, I did not know about a lot of these tools I'm finding. 

My favorite thing I added to my RSS is a blog titled A Year of Reading.  It is a blog written by two teachers (and authors), about books they have read and liked.  I love it because I am always looking for children's books to take along with me in my sub bag (and for my future classroom) to read to the classes I go into.  I know it has nothing to do with technology, but children need to be read to nonetheless. 

google tools

Here are two Google tools that teachers can use in their classrooms:

1.  Google Talk- Video Chat

What is it? Google Talk is a chat application that you can message people from around the world in real-time text conversations.  The Video Chat option allows you to see and talk to the other person with the use of a webcam, speakers, and a microphone.

Affordances: The Video Chat tool allows you to actually see who you are talking to, see what they are doing while talking to you, and hear their actual voice.  It allows you to see other people without getting on an airplane or traveling. 

Constraints:  One of the constraints on Video Chat is you cannot actually touch the person you are talking to.  They might live far away, and Video Chat does not physically bring them closer to you.

Use in classrooms: 
This is an article about how Video Chat is used to teach about different cultures and languages in the classroom. 
This YouTube Video depicts a history class taking a tour of the Constitution Center via a Google Video Chat. 
This YouTube Video shows two classrooms having a (short) debate using Google Video Chat.


2.  Google Earth

What is it? Google Earth allows you to virtually explore and navigate the world.

Affordances:  Google Earth allows you to zoom into cities and terrain, "stand" on some streets, and also zoom out to see exactly where something is within a country or continent.

Constraints:  Google Earth does not allow you to see in real time.  You cannot zoom in and see what it looks like exactly at this moment.

Use in Classrooms:
This website was created by a teacher using Google Earth.  He created it so that you can compare two versions of Earth, which you can set back to 1990 and up to 2012. 
GoogleLitTrips is a website that allows you to use Google Earth to enhance a piece of literature.  You can take information from a book and relate it to where it happened or where something is from on Google Earth.  You can create your very own "map" about a book. 
This YouTube video shows a classroom using Google Earth as an interactive map to learn more about missions in California. 

re-inventing the curriculum

This week, in reading from both Curriculum 21 and The Socially Networked Classroom, one comes to see that updating and re-inventing the curriculum does not have to be as hard as we imagine.  In Chapter 2 of Curriculum 21, it suggests different online resources for teachers that can actually help prepare students for their futures.  Some of the resources that I find interesting are webcams and websites such as ePals.  With this website and a webcam, students can connect with students from around the world and learn other languages, gain respect and understanding for other cultures, and collaborate on projects.  

The chapter we read in The Socially Networked Classroom had some very basic ways to get started toward a new curriculum.  The author, William Kist, mentioned some ideas that would promote skills students would be more likely to use in their future careers and lives.  He wanted to teach students how to read in non-linear ways and change assignments in class to what people do in jobs today.  In Chapter 2 of Curriculum 21, it mentions that we need to change assessments to what actual people in their work field create.  This is what Kist means.  One suggestion he makes is updating the exploration of film and texts by having students create a modern day musical, with students becoming playwrights and selecting their own music to fit the action or mood. 

All we need to do to start changing our curriculum is look at our assessments, and change them into something the student can learn from.  The assessment should not be the end result of what was being taught.  The assessment should continue to be what the student is learning.  Isn't it wonderful that a student can learn to be a playwright by doing a modern day musical assessment?

a new time, a new curriculum

Lately, I've been thinking about what should be a part of curriculum now and in the future. Obviously, preparing students for their future is the best thing we can do for them, and I think individualizing every student's path is probably what is best for them. I was creating a mental list the other day of things I thought students need to be taught, what could probably be cut, and what needs to be revamped. And the more I thought about it, the longer my list became.

"Back in the day," most students had mothers at home. These mothers were actually teachers as well. They taught their children certain things they needed to know to survive on their own, once they grew up and left the comfort of their childhood home. If you really think about it, are most of our students getting these lessons today? The little things that used to make a difference. The things that we often forget about because most of us learned them from a parent. Sometimes we don't teach students certain things because we assume they already know them and learned them at home. But should we be making those assumptions?

In today's society, probably the majority of students have two working parents, if they have two parents at home, if at all. The majority are probably not getting these lessons at home anymore.

The things that mothers used to teach their children should still be taught to children, wouldn't you agree? Should these things be part of a new curriculum?