Twitter

Melissa Holt

Assignment 10
EDT 5372
Dr. Zhang

Section I:  Learning from hashtags

One educational hashtag that was of interest to me was the #scichat on Twitter.  There were many interesting and educational tweets that were all very insightful. One interesting tweet was posted by Jon Bergmann.  This tweet was liked to an article entitled “Why Teachers Matter More in a Flipped Classroom”.  This article was very eye-opening, yet succinct. The article essentially expressed the importance of teachers in flipped classrooms as facilitators.  In addition, the article mentioned the importance of human interaction and that teaching is about building relationships between teachers and students as well as students and students.  Finally, the article aimed to discount the notion that a flipped classroom allows for less teachers and more students, when in fact, the inverse would provide students with greater opportunities to learn while providing teachers with greater opportunities to facilitate learning.  

A second educational tweet that was of interest to me was also associated with the #scichat on Twitter.  The tweet was posted by SCCAO.  SCCAO is an acronym for Science Coordinators and Consultants Association of Ontario.  The tweet was entitled, “Essential Characteristics of a 21^st Century Educator.  I found this tweet especially interesting because we are all 20^th century educators who are educating our 21^st century students.  Also, I found this fascinating because after 10 years of teaching, I have had an internal struggle on if I still want to be an educator and/or if I have what it takes to be a great teacher at this point in my life.  The blog post was very enlightening and mentioned that the traits that are needed for today’s educator include, being a relationship builder, a learner, being inclusive, being reflective, networking, being an innovator, being a leader, being a storyteller, being a designer, and an artist.  I do agree that most of the attributes on this list would embody a great educator in the 21^st century.  This list is still being developed by its creator, George Couros.  I look forward to seeing the final draft of these essential characteristics. 

Twitter Links:

https://twitter.com/jonbergmann (Twitter)

http://www.jonbergmann.com/whyteachersmattermoreinflippedclassroom/ (Full Article)

https://twitter.com/SCCAO (Twitter)

http://paper.li/SCCAO/1307815348?edition_id=cc1c8790-9d38-11e6-9bbc-0cc47a0d15fd (Full Article)

http://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/6783 (Full Article)

Section II: Ideas for using Twitter for teaching and learning

            Based on the readings from this week, as well as reflecting on my own personal experience in using Twitter, three ideas for using Twitter for teaching and learning are listed below

Idea #1 for using Twitter

One way that Twitter could be used to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom, is by using Twitter as an educational resource to gain ideas about lessons and activities that pertain to upcoming lessons.  Through the use of Twitter, educators can find a plethora of tweets that will provide them with instructional ideas that correlate to specific content areas.  An educator could search through hashtags in order to find images, videos, and written tweets that can help facilitate lessons in any content area.  Educators would have the added of being able to follow hashtags that on Twitter in order to stay abreast to new suggestions and ideas.

Idea #2 for using Twitter

Another way that Twitter could be used to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom, is by using Twitter as a way to connect with other students.  The use of twitter can allow students to communicate with other students within the city, state, country, or even globally. I believe this approach would be a great way to allow students to learn about students from different regions of the world, expand their understanding of different cultures, and find out what other kids their age are learning about in school.  In addition, the use of Twitter in the classroom setting also helps promote digital citizenship among students.

Idea #3 for using Twitter

A final way that Twitter could be used to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom, is by using Twitter as a means of increasing communication between teacher and students. Educators could use Twitter to pose a question to students at the end of each week.  This would be a great way to complete a formative assessment on students’ learning.  Students would all follow the classroom hashtag and would be able to post tweets in response to the question that was initially posed by the teacher. Some students do not feel comfortable raising their hands in the classroom setting; therefore, this would provide an opportunity to gain feedback from all students in a less formal setting.   

Edmodo

Melissa Holt
Assignment 9
EDT 5372
Dr. Zhang


After completing the readings this week as well as reflecting on my own personal experiences in using Edmodo, three ideas that I have for using Edmodo for teaching and learning are listed below:

Idea #1 for using Edmodo

One way that Edmodo could be used to facilitate teaching and learning in the classroom, is by using Edmodo to manage a paperless classroom.  The benefits of introducing students to this type of learning are boundless.  Educators would be able to prepare and present lessons through Edmodo.  Students would be able to receive their notes, assignments, assessments, surveys, and additional resources with the click of a button.  This type of classroom setup would provide students with ongoing exposure to technology. In addition, educators could imbed lessons with activities and assignments that incorporate other Web 2.0 tools such as Prezi presentations, Evernote social notetaking, blogging, and/or Pinterest to name a few.  The greatest benefit of all is reducing the carbon footprint of schools with the creation of a paperless classroom. 

Idea #2 for using Edmodo

            Another way that Edmodo can be used in the classroom setting as a way of learning would include setting up a parent portal through Edmodo to keep parents involved in students’ learning.  In addition, this approach would allow educators to maintain close communication with parents regarding students’ performance, success in learning, as well as needed areas of improvement.  In order to facilitate academic learning, it is fundamental that teachers and parents work together, as a community, to ensure that all students reach their full potential and continue to stay challenged throughout the school year. The rewards for parental dedication and involvement in their child’s education may be hard to see on a day to day basis, but parental involvement can truly have a positive contribution to students’ overall academic success and educational gains down the road.

Idea #3 for using Edmodo

            A final way that Edmodo can be used in teaching and learning would include the use of Edmodo to keep teachers and students connected during absences. Through the use of Edmodo, teachers and students can continue to work with each other in an attempt to increase communication between teachers and students.  Not only could this approach benefit students, but it could prove to be beneficial to teachers as well.  This approach to using Edmodo in the classroom setting would allow teachers to continue classroom lessons and assignments when teachers are out for in-service training, family emergencies, or personal/family illness. 

Self-directed Learning using Feedly

Melissa Holt

Assignment 8

EDT 5372

Dr. Zhang

            After reading two educational post from the educational technology blogs that I subscribed to, I found the postings to be very enlightening. A synopsis of what I learned from each of the educational technology blogs is listed below:

Edutopica: The Science of Effective Learning Space

            In this blog post, I truly learned several really great things that I plan to take back to my classroom.  I enjoyed this article, not only because the findings held a scientific basis, but also because the suggestions in the article are specifically geared to promoting student learning in the classroom setting.  The blog post provided numerous examples of variables that can affect a student’s learning and impact their cognitive abilities.   Some notable factors that can promote or hinder learning include noise levels, classroom temperature, seating arrangements, interactions, distractions, and light exposure.  An interesting finding presented in the blog post included that fact that daytime light exposure can contribute to boosting learning, while night light exposure can be attributed to hindering learning for students. I found the section on seating arrangements to be especially informational. The blog post article suggested that educators arrange desk according to the tasks that will be completed for the day.  Providing students with seating arrangements that promote optimal learning conditions for students is a reason why educators might find value in reevaluating seating charts on a weekly basis. 

Free Technology for Teachers: Tiny Tap Courses-Create Interactive Lessons for iPad & Android

            In this blog post, I was able to learn about a new technology that is available to educators as a resources that is intended to help promote active learning in the classroom. With an increase in creating lessons that incorporate blended learning, it has become increasingly important for educators to incorporate and integrate quality instruction through technology.  This blog post presents information on the app Tiny Tap.  Tiny Tap is an app that can be uploaded onto any IPAD, IPAD mini, and/or Android.  The app allows students to play games that are teacher-created.  These game can also be used a s formative assessment in order to ensure that students understand key concepts and academic vocabulary that has been presented in classroom lessons. Tiny Tap may also serve as an instructional tool that can provide additional help and additional practice for those students who need instructional interventions in various content areas.  The blog post articles highlight a new feature available with the Tiny Tap app.  Currently, the new addition to the app is called Tiny Tap Course, which allows educators to organize games into thematically aligned units.

Both of these educational technology blogs provided insightful information that can be used by educators to support students in an effort to meet the needs of the 21^st century student in effective, creative, and meaningful ways. 

Prezi

Google Drive

Melissa Holt

Assignment 7 

EDT 5372

Dr. Zhang

            After completing the readings, as well as using my own personal experience using Google Drive this week, this Web 2.0 tool can easily be implemented into classrooms in any content area and any grade level.  Three ideas of using Google Drive for teaching and learning are listed below:

Google Drive Idea #1

            One way that Google Drive could be used for learning is by utilizing the website as a way to gain insights about students at the beginning of the school year.  On the first day of school, my students in my 5^th grade science classroom, have to complete a survey about themselves so that I can get to know them better.  In past years, I have always given students the survey on paper.  However, for next school year, I will create a survey using Google Forms on Google Drive to create a paperless survey that will allow me to see their responses electronically.  An added benefit to completing the survey on Google Drive is the reduction of paper waste, which science teachers love!

Google Drive Idea #2

            Another way that Google Drive could be used for learning is by having students share their writing with each other in order to go through the editing and revising process on Google Docs.  The editing and revising process is critical to the writing process before final drafts are completed and published.  I would assign this type of assignment to students in grades 8-12 for English/Language Arts.  I believe that this range of grade levels would be most appropriate because students learn keyboarding skills in the 8^th grade. Lower grade levels are not as skilled with typing, and might feel thwarted by being required to type written assignments and complete peer editing and revising on Google Docs.

Google Drive Idea #3

            A final way Google Drive could be used for teaching is by having teachers create folders based on their grade level. The folders could be used to store school related documents by grade level, as well as store school related documents for the campus.   This can be done at any campus and with any grade level K-12.  The benefit to implementing Google Drive in this way is that each grade levels can upload their lesson plans.  Schools can also upload campus events to keep faculty and staff informed of upcoming events. These uploads can be shared folders that are easily accessible to faculty and staff members through Google Drive.  In addition, there is no cost to campuses for using Google Drive, which assist in budgetary concerns for all campus.   

 

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