Thing #2 questions

1. What was your reaction to the videos? I viewed them last night. One stands out. It featured 10 individuals/students discussing the benefits of blogging. They thought that it was very helpful in obtaining assignments and getting clarification on assignments easily. One student felt that it was a good way to get assignments when she had missed class.

2. Are you thinking about using Blogs in your classroom? Why or Why Not? I think they could be useful in my AP government class. These students are probably familiar with the technology and it could be a way for them to discuss issues presented in class. I think one of the social studies teachers has used this for several years and the students use it all the time. Will I use it? I don't know. I don't feel comfortable with the technology yet. We will see.

3. Are you using Blogs in your classroom? I am not. I have only set this one up, and it is pretty basic.

4. What are some ways you envision blogs being used in your classroom? As I briefly mentioned above, I think it could be a good sounding board for students to ask questions regarding the course content, assignments, etc. I could put assignments and other class information on there as well. I am sure there are many other ways to use blogs that I am not fully aware of yet.

5. What do you like or dislike about RSS feeders? I must honestly tell you, I have yet to set one up. I am still confused about how to set them up. I will work on that this week and set some up. I did, however, want to post Thing 2, as I feel I am not keeping up. I think they could make it easier to find/hear about topics or gather information easier than going to the website itself, since it feeds its information to me. I anticipate that it could bring more information to met than I have the time to read. I believe that in one of the videos for Thing 2 a teacher confessed that he reads blogs (?) for at least 2 hours a day!!! I have no idea where he finds the time.

6. How might you be able to use RSS in your personal life? I am not sure. I think if I had more time I would be able to subscribe to more feeders and be able to read them. I think it would be for general knowledge. The RSS feeders seem to me to be more interesting as a way to enhance my knowledge for the classroom.

7. Did you find any great resources we should all add to our Google Reader? No, but as Sarah Palin says "I'll get back to you when I find one."

I wanted to report on my first attempt to use one of the Web 2.0 tools in class. I had my students use google docs for the first time. I have to admit I was a little nervous about it because I wasn't very confident about the application myself. However, it went more smoothly than I anticipated. Some students had used it before, and helped out with the setup of the accounts. I also had the help of Veronica S., who, during the last MILI meeting ran through the set-up procedures with me. That was huge!! Many thanks. I do have to work with this more in the future, and become more comfortable with it. I had students add me to their google doc accounts, but I do confess that I did not sign in to check on their progress (I believe this is the purpose of having access to their accounts.) I think that I could have helped the students by making more comments on their power points if I had done this.

This first attempt will also help me when designing the U.S. history project for this class. Students prepare a powerpoint on one of the "decades" and Rachel H. and I are planning on having students use google docs.

All in all, I am pretty satisfied. Without this course, I do not know when I would have caught wind of this. This is why I signed up. I know I need to spend more time experimenting with this tool and others in the Web 2.0 and its applications to the classroom.

Thing 1 and other comments

OK, I have gone way too long without posting a blog here. I have been busy and have just completed reading the materials for "Thing 1". So without further comment or excuses, I would like to comment on the items I read for "Thing 1" and ask a few questions regarding a project I am trying to get organized.

I did not write down all of the questions prior to logging on to this blog, so I will attempt to answer the questions I did write down and those that I do not complete today I will finish off this week.

Regarding the question: What do you think of the Blog? (or something to that effect):

I have to say that I do not feel that comfortable blogging. I haven't taken the time to do "Thing 1" before today, and I didn't really know what to blog about other than that. Additionally, I am not a very extroverted person by nature and I don't really like exposing my thoughts and feelings in such an open forum. I do not have a Facebook or Myspace account and I do not plan on creating one at anytime in the near future. I probably says a lot about my age, having grown up before the computer revolution, but that's the way I see it.

Regarding the evolution of the Blog in general, I feel that it's growth (did I read that there is one new blog created every second, or half second?) is really mind boggling to me. I have read very few online blogs before joining this class, although I do read the printed blog comments that are featured in the Star/Tribune editorial pages regularly. I am sure that this is because I haven't taken the time to investigate them. This was one of the reasons I signed up for this class. I knew that there were new tools on the web but I didn't know much about them.

How do all these things fit together? Or don't they?

I think they do fit together. Information literacy is, as I recall, without having the definition written down, the ability to incorporate new technology tools avialable online to gather reliable research data and compile the data as well as communicate that data. It is an attempt to help students understand the many tools on Web 2.0 and classroom 2.o to help them become lifelong learners, and to "learn how to learn."

I am not sure that I really understand the Web 2.0 or the Classroom 2.0, but I gather that they are structured in a very open ended fashion; the student researches the information and uses these tools to create their own website on a particular topic ("Students are content creators") using the Web 2.0. The problem, it seems to me, is that students do not know the difference between reliable and false/inaccurate information, especially when they use such search engines as Wikipedia as the final authority on any and all topics. I did find the Washington Post article interesting in stating that the evolution of the web has not necessarily fostered more knowledge and understanding of the world, but many times it has led to a lot of misinformation. I would have thought the opposite. So, how do we teach studnets to use only the reliable sources of information? This is something I need some training in!!!

How do you gather, interpret, organize and store information? How do your students do it?

Well, obviously, I need some training in how to do all of these things. I have traditionally used books, and online databases that feature newspaper, periodical articles, and other research tools offered through the Chaska High School Media Center (i.e. SIRS, Opposing Viewpoints, etc.) I think students, even though I ask that they do not, will run to Wikpedia first and use that as the main source of their information. This is an area where I need to work the hardest on, so that I can help them do the same.

I was heartened a bit when I read the article "Students as content creators: Consequence of Literacies (?) They emphasized the importance of gaining technology literacy skills in a students' college education, but also said that very few colleges are offering any kind of comprehensive program to teach these skills to the students. My take on this article is that I am not the only educator that needs some "education" on these literacy skills.

Is the definition of Information Literacy enough? (this is not the exact question, I know, but I think this is generally it.)

The definition gives one a good start at grasping the idea, but to really be "Literate" is so much bigger than the definition provides!! There are so many online tools that I have perused in the short time I have exposed myself to them that I am truly overwhelmed. I can't imagine how a person can become truly literate without years of study and an almost daily exposure to these developments and the new tools that will emerge rapidly. It is truly a lifelong commitment to keep up with these developments.

I think these are most of the questions I was asked to address. I have a better understanding of their overall structure and some of the implications for education as a result of having read the articles, etc. But, at the same time, it has created more questions than answers!

If anyone has read this all, I am sorry!! I feel as if I have droned on too long. But I will post a query, without having investigated this tool enough myself: Is it pretty quick and easy to learn about Google docs, and present it to my students, so they can use it to put together a project on the upcoming election?

Thanks!!!

The end of the first week!!! Things went very well at school, but I have not blogged since the Wednesday that we met all day. Good intentions, but I was busyier than I thought. I am also not sure what to blog about at this point, and am wondering how I can use the blog in my classroom. I do have some ideas for class projects where I can put to use some of the web tools that were presented during the two days we were together. I suppose at that point I will have some questions/reflections. I perused a few of the District 112 blogs and was impressed with the level of sophistication of some of them.

Google reader

Thanks to several people's help I have been successful at setting up my google reader, but couldn't access the rest of the class's blogs. I am still feeling like a dummy, but really appreciate the way everyone has helped me navigate my way through this. I only hope I will be as proficient at using these tools next year as the second year people are now!!!

MILI Day 1

This has been quite an eye opener!! My brain is overloaded with new terms (wiki, ning, flicker, etc.) I hope I can process it all and put these tools to good use over the next year.