First week

I have to say that, so far, I feel good about the layout and topics for this course. I feel I know quite a bit about things like Powerpoint and Inspiration, but I'm looking forward to learning more about digital photos, movie-making, and even the possibility of "social networks" and their applicability to the classroom. I often find myself asking students how they use podcasts and the like; I hope this course will help me gain confidence in using the tools myself.

In examining brainpop.com, at Chris's suggestion, I realized right away why technology plays an integral part in all realms of education. I was excited to see, for example, the colorful images, animation, and video that could teach me the steps of the writing process. Why was I excited? Perhaps because it reminded me how "old topics" can seem new when presented in a different way. I think this is true for my students and something I need to keep in mind in the classroom.

The readings for this week got me thinking about constructivist teaching and how naturally its objectives fall in line with technology. I especially loved the idea of working with students on social negotiation techniques through technologies like chats, videoconferencing, bulletin boards, and blogs (in middle school, especially, I think students need more practice in this area!) In teaching both reading and writing, I've seen again and again how effectively students can work collaboratively to solve problems and create meaning from a text, so it would be fun to see how this could happen in a technological setting.

Since this week's topic is blogging, I have been thinking about possibilities for its use in my classroom. I could absolutely use this for student journaling on quotations from a story, for example, as they'd be able to respond to both the quote and one another's comments. I think this would be a VERY neat tool to use for drafts of student papers, giving classmates an opportunity to "peer edit" and make suggestions for change. In my class literature circles, I think it would be fun for students to answer some questions about the reading prior to meeting as a group. Once again, students would have the chance to respond and reflect on their classmates' ideas before sitting down to talk about the material.