30 boxes is an online calendar program that allows you to keep your work and social life organized all on the same calendar. 30 Boxes gives you the ability to add friends and set certain events to private so that you can keep more personal events to yourself. When you add friends and put them into groups, those people will then be able to see all of the events related to that group. For example, your 4th period English class will be able to see all events and assignments for their specific class, however they will not be able to see the schedule for your 5th period English class. 30 Boxes gives you the ability to put everything from the first day of school to drinks with friends all in one place.
As it is shown this tool is very valuable for teachers in the new technological age we live in. Even though 30 boxes really is not a tool that will enhance a student’s knowledge in the classroom it is more to help keep them organized and up to date on assignments and tests. It is very easy for both teachers and students to operate. It is free and you just need to make a login, which requires an email and password. You just click on the boxes and input various events and can specifically put due dates or times for events. Example: you can post when a reading assignment need to be completed or you can post when people are giving their oral presentations.
There is so much that teachers can do with this program that can benefit them in the classroom. We are interested in maybe coaching in High School. With this source you can post practices, games, and events to help out your players and coaches.
Having the use of 30 Boxes allows teachers to be constantly connected to students and their parents. The ability for everyone to be informed is paramount. Instead of worry about if an assignment is due, or when a test is, or what lesson plan is next the accessibility of 30 Boxes allows for there to be no issues or surprises to all these individuals. As a student the fact that I can always be prepared and know what is coming up and what is due is an awesome tool. As a teacher, being able to connect and also send out updates with 30 Boxes is very helpful. For parents, the idea that they can monitor and also see what their children should be working on or working towards is very important and very helpful.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Friday, June 29, 2012
Tech Fitness
In the June/July 2010 issue of Leading & Learning, an article titled "Bootcamp Builds Tech Fitness", the author talks about her use of a fully integrated technology classroom. Every subject she teaches in her kindergarten classroom is done using digital tools. For fitness the students get to play with the Nintendo Wii, playing sport games that reinforce them to be active and move around. Along with this for subjects such as English, the students have penpals that they talk to each week via webcam and also through text. For art the teacher used games such as cranium which forces the students to create things out of clay and the other students to guess what they are creating. For social studies, she had the students use Google and Yahoo to search for and read up on daily events that they would then later discuss in the class.
I find it very cool that this teacher was able to fully integrate technology into her classroom for her students to use. She not only did it for one subject, but all the subjects she teaches throughout the day. I can see how this would be a very tough challenge to make sure the students were getting the most information they could out of the different activities they were doing. Beyond this, I like the idea that they are being interactive and proactive about their learning. Rather than just listening to their teacher talk at the head of a classroom they get to choose how they learn to an extent. I really think it allows for the teacher to be very flexible in how they want to teach certain subjects and allows them to be very creative.
This article covers all the NETS standards, this teacher is able to give the students multiple different technologies. They are able to be creative, practice digital citizenship, proper usage, searching for information on their own and also they get to use new technologies and show their proficency.
Mcgagna-Mcbee, C. (2010). Boot camp builds tech fitness. Learning & Leading, 37(June/July), 36-37. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
I find it very cool that this teacher was able to fully integrate technology into her classroom for her students to use. She not only did it for one subject, but all the subjects she teaches throughout the day. I can see how this would be a very tough challenge to make sure the students were getting the most information they could out of the different activities they were doing. Beyond this, I like the idea that they are being interactive and proactive about their learning. Rather than just listening to their teacher talk at the head of a classroom they get to choose how they learn to an extent. I really think it allows for the teacher to be very flexible in how they want to teach certain subjects and allows them to be very creative.
This article covers all the NETS standards, this teacher is able to give the students multiple different technologies. They are able to be creative, practice digital citizenship, proper usage, searching for information on their own and also they get to use new technologies and show their proficency.
Mcgagna-Mcbee, C. (2010). Boot camp builds tech fitness. Learning & Leading, 37(June/July), 36-37. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-june-july-2010.aspx
Story Telling with Second Life
Along the lines of one of my previous blogs I took a look at the online game "Second Life" where users can create their own worlds and communicate, collaborate and share their creations. In the May 2010 article from Learning & Leading, "Learning Connections: Digital Storytelling in Second Life" more and more teachers have turned to the game Second Life to use as an assignment for students to create their own unqiue works from multiple different novels, poems or movies. This gives students the complete freedom to be creative and create something of their own. When the students were finished they shared their open worlds to other students and others who play in the game Second Life.
This is a very, very cool idea in my mind. It allows for a student to do something very creative. They get to take a novel or a story and use it to their advantage creating a world based around that subject. For me I would have loved the opportunity to do something like that in school. It gives students the ability to use their imagination and really get into the poem or story they are learning about. Beyond that I think probably the coolest thing is the fact that other students can fully explore these worlds as they are able to share them.
This article covers the NETS standard 2 and 6 which promotes students to create their own unique and creative works along with using new technologies and learning to use them effectively in the classroom.
Porter, B. (2010). Digital storytelling in second life. Learning & Leading, 37(May), 26-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-may-2010.aspx
This is a very, very cool idea in my mind. It allows for a student to do something very creative. They get to take a novel or a story and use it to their advantage creating a world based around that subject. For me I would have loved the opportunity to do something like that in school. It gives students the ability to use their imagination and really get into the poem or story they are learning about. Beyond that I think probably the coolest thing is the fact that other students can fully explore these worlds as they are able to share them.
This article covers the NETS standard 2 and 6 which promotes students to create their own unique and creative works along with using new technologies and learning to use them effectively in the classroom.
Porter, B. (2010). Digital storytelling in second life. Learning & Leading, 37(May), 26-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-may-2010.aspx
PLN Reflection
A PLN or Personal Learning Network is a collection of educators who share information with each other. The site I joined was classroom 2.0 which was almost set up like a version of Facebook. It has many different resources and a forum where discussions can take place between members of the website. Along with this the site offers up ways in which members can sign up and subscribe to certain discussions that other members are having. They also give you updates on events that are taking place allowing you to view and search for one that are upcoming. I can see how this would greatly enchance my teaching experience, I can collaborate with other educators and bounce ideas off of them on how I can further my endevours as a teacher. Along with this, I can share how I go about teaching my class which may help someone else.
The RSS feeds are very helpful in the sense that they filter out what news might be interesting to you. For me the main two I focused on dealt with history, they gave me historical headlines which I can use in my classroom and lesson plans for the day. I feel it really helps you keep up on the news going on and stops you from having to read things that maybe might not be so pertinant.
For my Twitter account I have a multitude of people I follow, since I plan on teaching history I searched for viable history twitter accounts and found a couple. Along with this I chose to follow a few others that were more akin to my personal hobbies. The best use for Twitter that I can tell is that it is almost like an RSS feed that gives you the information quick and you can choose to look further into it or not. Beyond that the only other thing is being able to possibly connect with the people you are following if they take the time to respond to questions you have.
Diigo I do like using for the main point of having access to information that I have run across in the past, being able to recall it quickly and saving my bookmarks. It lets me mark things that I find most important and in turn also share it if I feel the need to. Some of the people I found on Diigo share their links they have found on certain subjects and materials, which is helpful because it saves you time from having to search all over the net for things yourself.
Classroom 2.0 discussion boards has a wealth of information and some interesting discussions on them. I looked at a posting by a teacher asking about trying to get teachers to use technology in the classroom on a daily basis. The consensus among the people who took part in the discussion said having the students present their assignments using a technology tool was one of the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom on a daily basis. Which is very interesting, it allows the teacher to find some creative solutions for students to use technology to work on assignments.
Overall I think PLNs are very helpful in the fact that you are connected to so many resources that can be very valuable to use on a daily basis. One of the biggest pros of using a PLN is being able to bounce your ideas and gather ideas from other educators. Some of the cons I find is that you do have to do some filtering out of questions and deal make sure make interesting discussions as others aren't so inclined to join in all the time.
The RSS feeds are very helpful in the sense that they filter out what news might be interesting to you. For me the main two I focused on dealt with history, they gave me historical headlines which I can use in my classroom and lesson plans for the day. I feel it really helps you keep up on the news going on and stops you from having to read things that maybe might not be so pertinant.
For my Twitter account I have a multitude of people I follow, since I plan on teaching history I searched for viable history twitter accounts and found a couple. Along with this I chose to follow a few others that were more akin to my personal hobbies. The best use for Twitter that I can tell is that it is almost like an RSS feed that gives you the information quick and you can choose to look further into it or not. Beyond that the only other thing is being able to possibly connect with the people you are following if they take the time to respond to questions you have.
Diigo I do like using for the main point of having access to information that I have run across in the past, being able to recall it quickly and saving my bookmarks. It lets me mark things that I find most important and in turn also share it if I feel the need to. Some of the people I found on Diigo share their links they have found on certain subjects and materials, which is helpful because it saves you time from having to search all over the net for things yourself.
Classroom 2.0 discussion boards has a wealth of information and some interesting discussions on them. I looked at a posting by a teacher asking about trying to get teachers to use technology in the classroom on a daily basis. The consensus among the people who took part in the discussion said having the students present their assignments using a technology tool was one of the most effective ways to use technology in the classroom on a daily basis. Which is very interesting, it allows the teacher to find some creative solutions for students to use technology to work on assignments.
Overall I think PLNs are very helpful in the fact that you are connected to so many resources that can be very valuable to use on a daily basis. One of the biggest pros of using a PLN is being able to bounce your ideas and gather ideas from other educators. Some of the cons I find is that you do have to do some filtering out of questions and deal make sure make interesting discussions as others aren't so inclined to join in all the time.
Friday, June 22, 2012
History in Second Life
The article "Social Studies in a Virtual World" from Andrew Wheelock in the March/April 2010 issue of Learning & Leading takes a look at the use of a computer game named Second Life that lets users create "Islands" where they can pretty much build and create anything they wish. For the author he came in contact with a group of teachers and educators who meet up every other Sunday to explore different islands that have been created for historic purposes. With each island there is a specific theme such as, Capitol Hill South which looks at opinions of current U.S. political issues; there's also Virtual Babylon that has a ton of information of that time period, there is even a island themed after the life of Abraham Lincoln showing off various times in his life. The author talks about the use of this game as being able to connect with others to explore these different historical times and the networking that can come of it.
For the classroom I can see this being a very useful experience for students. The main incentive is the fact that they get to play a video game at school, the other is they are allowed to use their imagination to possibly create their own islands and themes. This can be used in many different ways, such as giving a group of studens an assignment to recreate a time in history or a place that can be represented in the game. To me that is something that is very extrodinary and very cool to think about.
This article fits in with NETS standard 2 and 5 as students would be collaborating with each other to create their own island and along with this they would need to learn how to be appropriate citizens in an online game where they are interacting with many others.
Wheelock, A. (2010). Social studies in a virtual world. Learning & Leading, 37(March/April), 26-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2010.aspx
For the classroom I can see this being a very useful experience for students. The main incentive is the fact that they get to play a video game at school, the other is they are allowed to use their imagination to possibly create their own islands and themes. This can be used in many different ways, such as giving a group of studens an assignment to recreate a time in history or a place that can be represented in the game. To me that is something that is very extrodinary and very cool to think about.
This article fits in with NETS standard 2 and 5 as students would be collaborating with each other to create their own island and along with this they would need to learn how to be appropriate citizens in an online game where they are interacting with many others.
Wheelock, A. (2010). Social studies in a virtual world. Learning & Leading, 37(March/April), 26-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-march-april-2010.aspx
Podcasts in Social Science Classroom
In the publication Learning & Leading from February 2010, the article "Using Podcasts to Develop a Global Perspective" by Brad M. Maguth and Jeff Elliott looks at the usage of podcasts in their social studies classrooms. For these two teachers, not only do the students search and listen to various podcasts from around the world, they also produce their own podcasts. Mr. Maguth and Elliott have laid out an interesting twist to their podcasts though. They ask their students to have it in the format type of 'Meet the Press' in which there are various different views on one subject. With this the students must research different viewpoints from world leaders and present them for the podcasts. Not only this but each student has a script to read from so the podcast flows cleanly. The students use a program called Audacity, which is familiar to our EDUC 422 class. With this they are able to reach a large audience by posting these podcasts on the internet, which motivates the students to produce a quality product and assignment.
I can see how an assignment like this could be very effective in a classroom. It gives the students the ability to be creative but also gives them awareness about world issues. For Maguth and Elliott they chose the subject of global warming which there are many different viewpoints on. Not only are they engaging in learning the material but they are learning each side of it too, which allows them to make their own informed decisions on a subject. Doing this really makes the class and material interactive. The students get to have their voices heard outside of the classroom which may be a huge motivation booster.
This article covers NETS student standard 2, 3 and 6. The students collaborate and publish their podcasts, while researching other podcasts to gain information and sources, finally they use the program Audacity to create their own podcasts and publish the material to the internet.
Maguth, B., & Elliott, J. (2010). Using podcasts to develop a global perspective. Learning & Leading, 37(Feburary), 34-35. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-february-2010.aspx
I can see how an assignment like this could be very effective in a classroom. It gives the students the ability to be creative but also gives them awareness about world issues. For Maguth and Elliott they chose the subject of global warming which there are many different viewpoints on. Not only are they engaging in learning the material but they are learning each side of it too, which allows them to make their own informed decisions on a subject. Doing this really makes the class and material interactive. The students get to have their voices heard outside of the classroom which may be a huge motivation booster.
This article covers NETS student standard 2, 3 and 6. The students collaborate and publish their podcasts, while researching other podcasts to gain information and sources, finally they use the program Audacity to create their own podcasts and publish the material to the internet.
Maguth, B., & Elliott, J. (2010). Using podcasts to develop a global perspective. Learning & Leading, 37(Feburary), 34-35. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-february-2010.aspx
Friday, June 15, 2012
Classroom Cloud Computing
In the Leading & Learning December 2009 / January 2010 issue an article titled "Computing in the Clouds" the author Doug Johnson explores the usage of schools applying cloud networks to access files, share and save. Johnson explains that a "cloud" is a term for file storage via the use of application on the internet, a local area-network or district intranet. The argument the author makes is the idea that it is much more cost efficent for districts, and much more convienent and accessable for students and teachers to use. Mainly the reasoning behind this is the constant access to files and the ability to save, upload and share files via the cloud. This gives teachers and students the tool to be able to access their files anywhere on any computer. What is interesting is the article is from 2009/10 when the idea of "cloud" wasn't a term widely used. Now a days it is a very important tool for millions of people who want to access their files at any time.
I really love the idea of using the cloud system, rather than traditionally all the work is saved on one network, persay a school, where you can only do your work there. This allows the users, whether they are students or teachers the ability to work from anywhere with an internet access point. Even to an extent you can work offline when you sync your file sharing to the most recent point. This tool is very important for bringing a classroom home with students. It allows teachers to digitally enter a students home and give them access to files, lesson plans, worksheets and other various types of homework that the student can work on from their computers.
This article falls under NETS 2 and 6, students are able to upload, communicate and work from outside the classroom. They are also having to learn a new technology than what had been traditionally used in the terms of a local network or a single computer holding all their files.
Johnson, D. (2009-2010). Computing in the clouds. Leading & Learning, December/January(37), 16-18. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-december-janruary-2009-2010.aspx
I really love the idea of using the cloud system, rather than traditionally all the work is saved on one network, persay a school, where you can only do your work there. This allows the users, whether they are students or teachers the ability to work from anywhere with an internet access point. Even to an extent you can work offline when you sync your file sharing to the most recent point. This tool is very important for bringing a classroom home with students. It allows teachers to digitally enter a students home and give them access to files, lesson plans, worksheets and other various types of homework that the student can work on from their computers.
This article falls under NETS 2 and 6, students are able to upload, communicate and work from outside the classroom. They are also having to learn a new technology than what had been traditionally used in the terms of a local network or a single computer holding all their files.
Johnson, D. (2009-2010). Computing in the clouds. Leading & Learning, December/January(37), 16-18. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-december-janruary-2009-2010.aspx
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