Application+of+Tools

==== Students will post a 1/2 to 1 page narrative - with NEXT STEPS: How can/will you begin to use these tools with your students? How do you see one or more of these tools being used next semester with your students or for you professionally? How can Val or your tech coach get you to the next step or cross a hurdle that is preventing you from using these tools? I hope to hear from you next semester... this course is a starting point not a finish line. ====

I have so many ideas about how I will use these tools in my classroom. I am immediately going to start using my google document that I created for my banned book unit. Students are working in groups and consolidating data about the books they are reading. Giving them access to a web document that all can edit and add to is a great way to help them work together as a group, even if the group can't be together.

I currently use my wiki for extra credit assignments and a link to my web page where I have multiple links for my students to access. At this time I think I will continue to use the wiki in this manner, but use my web page in a more active way.

My web page will house all of the projects I have done during this class that my students can find value and meaning in. I will have a link to my blog, which will house questions that pertain to current units. We are now doing a unit on banned books and I can see a blog as a great forum for students to express their feelings on the topic. Class discussions have been really rich, but I can see some students holding back who are more reserved than the rest of the group. I also plan to post my google tour on my __Miss Spitfire__ page as it will be a great piece of background info. for this book study.

After my banned book unit, I do a poetry/art/music unit where students create a multimedia presentation that is held together by a common theme and mood. As I've mentioned in another post, I started this project as a powerpoint and have progressed it to an iMovie which will have to be updated again to the new version of iMovie. But now, I can have the movies posted on the web using teachertube or another site. I can also steer the students to voicestream to post parts of their projects there so their peers can comment on them.

One final way I see these tools being used is skyping with students. I had a student out for a surgery early in the year and we tried to set up skyping so she wouldn't lose too much class time. It did not work because we could not get a webcam purchased in time. I think, though, now that I have the tools, students could use this tool when they are absent, when they have questions, and when they need to be two places at once. In fact, I can see this as a really fun way to help students while away from school, as long as I can set parameters and "hours" of operation.