Thing 8

I like the idea of social bookmarking. As with most of these "things" it is totally new to me. I think it will be helpful in sharing bookmarks with other teachers. I also like that it is able to be accessible from any computer so you can bookmark a site and share it at school or at home. I need to work on organizing the sites into groups for work, home, etc. It is interesting to see what others have bookmarked and how they are using the sites in their classroom with the key words they choose to explain how it is helpful to them. It took me some time to set it up and I will need to spend more time later with the organization part as I continually add to it.

Thing 5

I watched the video and read about Thing 5....I didn't know much about Web 2.0 so I learned that it has to do with writing as well as reading on the internet. My memories from being in school were good. I had some fantastic teachers in High School who knew how to get you to think, create, and challenge you. Education has to change and we need to motivate and challenge students to go beyond pencil/paper and textbooks....that it just not going to work for today's kids. I love the idea of having kids create the content and publishing their ideas on information/topics they've researched. I also think it's important to help them distinguish a good source vs. just someone's opinion on a blog. Having them create a blog will help them understand this.

Thing 4

I can't believe how much teaching and learning have changed from when I was in Middle School. Students need to be prepared to think through problems, work in teams and distinguish good information from bad information...and technology is a big part of preparing learners to gather, use, and communicate information. When I was in school we did a great deal of memorizing facts that teachers provided and had less freedom in directing our own learning through group projects. One difficulty I find with my middle school child is that even when her teacher puts her homework online she chooses to use her time to do other things. I didn't have a computer or cell phone. I did spend a lot of time on the phone and playing "Pack man" video games, but I think I found school assignments to be more meaningful and worked more persistently to get homework done..., of course that was a long time ago...I learned to type on a typewriter in high school. My daughter spends way too much time texting friends on her cell phone, IM -ing friends on the internet, and updating her my space. I wish she didn't have so many distractions. I think this is a problem for many kids at this age...they are overwhelmed with all of the "fun" distractions and have a hard time getting work done. I just keep thinking about the survey of what employers rate for job success as #1 is work ethic....this is something we really need to think about. How can we improve the work ethic for students???? I'm going to keep in mind the job success top factors: work ethic, collaboration, oral communication, and social responsibility...in planning lessons/projects.

Thing 3

I'm a bit nervous about sharing my ideas, thoughts, and reflections online. I have never blogged before. This is completely new to me and I'm a very private person (personally.) I have many professional observations and ideas that I enjoy sharing with others and this will be an opportunity for me to share what I've learned in this course and how I plan to use the "things" in sharing with students and the teachers I work with. I noticed that the g-mail account I used has my first and last name so I have shared my name. According to the blog I just read students are not to share personal information. I should have set up a new e-mail...but I guess this is not a huge problem.
I think it will be very valuable when teachers share with each other (is this Thing 7?) I feel students are going to like sharing with others, (as long as they keep their reactions on topic and appropriate.) I can see where they may get off task or try to comment on what "so in so is doing" since they are so focused on their friends in Middle School. Is this a problem in blogging? I think they would be very creative in setting up their own blog since they are producing it for others to see. Middle School students would be able to read a chapter and comment on their "blog." They may take it more seriously in explaining their thoughts. This may be what it takes to get kids to be more successful by motivating them and building relationships with them by giving them this opportunity to set up a blog.

MMK Summer Reflections 2009

This is the first "thing." I was able to set up my own blog. I'm shocked at how easy it is to do! I never thought I would be able to have my own blogging site on the internet. I am excited about how I can teach students by using such a simple concept. It is easy and I thought it would be difficult to get started. I'm glad I have the time to devote to learning the 23 "things"since it is summer. The only worry I have for the classroom is that students may be blocked due to internet restrictions in our building. Will they be able to create their own e-mail at school if they don't have an e-mail account with google? Often students run into problems with accessing web sites due to restrictions. Hopefully, this won't be a problem. The best thing is that setting up their own blog is free and we have computers. The possibilities are endless for motivating students. They will be able to connect with text and each other by sharing and communicating what they know by using this simple strategy.