Reflections

YEAH! This was quite the experience! I truly enjoyed the many new things I have learned and I am looking forward to implementing alot of it into new activities this year. My favorite tool from this training was the Digital Storytelling because there are many ways in which I can utilize it. This was an excellent training and I am greatful for everything I have learned. I am really excited to see what all these new tools are going to look like in my class this year!

Tool #11 Digital Citizenship

We as teachers and parents are responsible for teaching, promoting, and modeling good digital citizenship in our children. They should understand 3 key components when accessing the internet.

Safety - First of all, they must always have permission from an adult. It is important that they be careful about what information they reveal online. Release of their name, address, pictures and any other personal information can jeopardize their safety. They should understand that talking to a stranger on the internet is like speaking with a complete stranger in the street...not safe!

Etiquette - The same rules of respect and courtesy that we share in the classroom apply to other aspect of our life, including the internet. Students should be reminded the importance of appropriate use of language.

Encourage Technology - By integrating technology into our classroom activities we also promote a positive and fun outlook and desire for new experiences in the cyber world. Students should have plenty of opportunities to use the computer and any other district-approved technological gadget.

Tool #10 Exploring Mobile Technology and Apps

I saw several apps that I thought could be be useful in the classroom, but I particularly liked Shape Builder LITE which allows student to build shapes with puzzle pieces. It builds fine motor skills, eye-hand coordination and abstract mathematical thinking, excellent for our students! Alphabet Tracing is another application that our students can enjoy. It allows new student to learn and practice the correct shape/form of letters while enjoying the latest technology. An application that can be used just for fun is Glow Coloring which allows students to draw while using beautiful and bright colors. I am really excited to see the enthusiasm our students will have utilizing this new technology in our classrooms!

Tool #9 Sharing Information Through Jing & Skype

Jing seems to be a very useful tool that can help in a classroom to reteach an objective. Because Jing can record your mouse, and everything you click on, you only have to prepare the activity (with plenty of wait time)once and then replay the recording as many times necessary. Of course, this may not be something we as PreK teachers may be able to implement immediately but we may be able to experiment with it a little. Perhaps that may spark some neat ideas for new activities.

I love the way Skype provides the means for sharing with just about anyone. Students can communitate and learn about other cultures with a click of a mouse, literally...and for free! When did we ever think we might be able to do that?

Tool #8 Video Resources

At the beginning of the year, I always speak to my students about germs and the importance of our washing hands. These videos are excellent because they illustrates how germs travel and how to avoid spreading them. Good hygiene is an important objective that needs to be covered with our age group.

Tool #7 Digital Storytelling

This was fun and I think our students could certainly enjoy and benefit from digital storytelling in the classroom! We could act out stories after reading a book. We could set up groups to illustrate different parts of a story and then bring it all together digitally. We could take pictures during field trips and share it in the form of a story with parents to include them in the experience. PhotoStory is something I would love to implement in my classroom this coming year.

Tool #6 Wikis

I really like wikis because they can not only help students with acquiring new information for projects/activities but they can also help promote parental involvement by making information, pictures and other classroom information accessible to them. The convenience of being able to collaborate so easily with other teachers or students with other students make wikis a lot of fun!

Tool #5 Tagging & Social Bookmarking

I signed up with Diigo and joined two educational groups: Web 2.0 Tools for Educators and Cool Tools for Educators. I found alot interesting information as I browsed which include really cute fonts and stock photos, both which can be used for labeling in our classroom at any time during the year. These will be very useful websites I will be able to use, particularly for those students who need visuals for reinforcement. I also joined another interior design group that is of personal interest to me.

Social bookmarking will make our searches a lot less time consuming and much more convenient!

http://www.veezzle.com/
http://simplythebest.net/fonts/fancy_fonts.html

Tool #4 Cool Google Tools

I loved the Google tools even though I did get kind of stuck for a minute! I created a form which I sent to a friend. The convenience is amazing and the tools are very useful for quick referencing. I also subscribed to the five blogs I'm following and another four that will help me with lesson planning.

Tool #3 Image Generators & Mashups

That was fun! I used Glogster to compile personal pictures that were meaningful to me. This can also be done to engage parents on the blog by allowing them the opportunity to share pictures of their children or pictures they may authorize to be used of students engaged in the classroom activities throughout the year.

I used WordItOut to list words related to a topic, in this case, PreK. I can basically do the same using lists for books or themes so that parents can have a list of words to study with their child at home. Students can practice syllable activities, writing, and other language activities on their own time.

These are just a couple of examples...the possibilities are endless!

Tool #2 Building Community & Comments

This is definitely a new age of technology and not taking advantage of the abundance of resources is almost a sin! As educators, we have an obligation to each student that walks into our class to impact their minds with meaningful information and tools that can one day make them better prepared in this ever-changing world of technology. In order to do this, we ourselves should certainly be prepared and PLNs will be a very useful tool to help us achieve this. I think a PLN is a phenomenal idea for the classroom and our educational community, and I am very excited to see how each component will come together!

I love the way each one of us can respectfully voice our opinions and thoughts. It's important to give others the opportunity to share their views; it's how we grow!

http://techproject21.blogspot.com/
http://srasimon.blogspot.com/
http://tigercathe.blogspot.com/
http://tigertrailcenturylearning.blogspot.com/
http://laclasedemsamaro.blogspot.com/

Tool #1 Blog Set-up & Registration

Wow!...That took forever! Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty computer savvy, but can't ever make up my mind on colors, fonts,...basically I was stuck on the 'Design' tab for HOURS, and I'll probably change it again (my curse). It looks like it could be fun and pretty interesting down the line but today...I am exhausted! I recorded a message for my avatar but couldn't ever get it to work. I guess I'll try later. Anyways, this most certainly will serve as a fine tool for networking with staff, parents and students. It's pretty neat to see everyone's different style and set-up...Nice job everybody!!