Technology Use in the Classroom - Past Ideas that Have Worked and What I Will Do in the Coming Year

     There are two particular programs I have used in the past involving technology in the classroom that have worked well for me.  The first was a Mission to Mars.  It was a distance learning situation.  We used the distance learning center but you could do it in your classroom.  It was an e-mission through this website,  http://www.e-missions.net/.  Two classes prepared for this mission together, studying graphing, decoding, and multiplication and division story problems, along with a study of outerspace.  The students were broken up into groups who would be navigators, transmission officers, communications, and cargo officers.  The SmartBoard was used for part of this study.  During the actual mission the groups each had a laptop and information from mission control was relayed to the laptops.  The groups of students had to figure out the data to save a team of astronauts.  The communications group relayed the information from each group to mission control through microphones.  The students could see mission control on the large screen.  This particular project used distance learning and computers and the students worked collaboratively to solve a problem and learned a lot of math and science concepts along the way.

    

     Another site I have used successfully in the classroom is worldmathday.com where the students compete by performing math problems against other children from around the world.  They prepare for this day by practicing on the computer.  On the actual day itself they compete and can see on a globe on their screen where the other students are who they are competing against.  This is another site where I have found technology beneficial to learning in the classroom.

     A new technology that I will try this coming year based on the readings is digital storytelling.  I will also have the students videotape with a flipcamera each other acting out their stories in writing workshop, the actual writing workshop celebrations of the students reading their work, and current events in the school and have these posted online so that parents can view them, as well as other classrooms and administration.

     I will connect with parents and the class through a new class website as well as class current events blog.  I will add technological components to reading and writing workshop with the student's work online as well as discussions.

     For immigration presentations, state reports, and Newbery award projects I will add new options for their reports including podcasts.  I am going to have each student create their own wiki or blog to add to the class wiki or blog so they learn how to use these tools.  This will also bring out each student's individual creativity.  This year I will also save their work in e-portfolios on our school's intranet for future use and for use at conferences.  It is also possible then for the student to be at the conference and present their work to the parent.

Integrating Blogs into My Classroom

     There are several ways I might use a blog in my classroom next year.  First, for reading workshop when we are reading a class book I could post questions on the blog and have the students respond to the questions on the blog.  We would be carrying on a conversation through the blog.  They could do this in class or as a  homework assignment from home.  This would be ongoing throughout the unit.  Videotapes of students acting out portions of the book could be added.  I could also do literature circles with different groups discussing different books.
     As they read individual books throughout the year, they could post their book report on a blog and whether they recommend or don't recommend the book.  These could be separate blogs or linked to a common class portal that they could access.
     It is possible to actually use the blog as the class portal or if not, use a wiki, but link separate class blogs to it.  If the blog were used as the class portal I could add assignments, information for parents, forms, rubrics, PowerPoint reviews, vocabulary, photos, and videos.
     Another way I may try and use a blog is for current events.  The students could add current events they think are relevant to the blog with a link to the current event and their comments.  Other students could comment on their post.  This would be an assignment.  Instead of bringing in an article and a paragraph description of the article the student could post it on the blog.  A news feed could be on the site as well. 
     For social studies, a blog could be used in their study of the different states.  It could be a common area with information and websites that the students could access.  Final copies of their reports could be added to it.
     A final idea for using a blog in my classroom would be through writing workshop.  Final copies of the student's work during each unit could be added to the blog with comments from fellow students.  Videotapes of the students reading their pieces could also be used.  This would be a benefit to parents and administration as well to see the students' work.
     The students writing skills would improve as their knowledge of technology use improved through using blogs.  Some students might be more inclined to participate in discussions through the blog.  A lot of creativity is possible through the blog as well.
     I like the list of classroom uses of weblogs (Richardson, 2010, p. 39-40).  I would like to try several of these ideas with my class.  In addition to the ones listed above, I like the ideas of an online book club.  This would be something you could also extend into the summer months.  Students could create their own individual blogs.  A class newsletter would be a great idea, as well as, linking the students to another class somewhere else in the United States or the world.
     There are so many ideas that would be relevant in using blogs in my classroom.  This is my first time blogging so I will begin this fall with my class and see how many ideas I can incorporate into the classroom.