Thing 4

I didn't realize that there was a place to search pictures. This site would make it easier for my students to do some of there projects in Geometry. It gives me another great idea to have the students create layouts of different types of transformations that they can find on flickr.

I also used the first image to create a puzzle. I think it would be great for the students to create an advertisement or a slide show as well using images. This would be a great learning tool for the students to find images that relate to their Geometric vocabulary.

Thing 3

I have been using Facebook for awhile to keep in touch with relatives and old high school friends. It is a quick and easy way to keep up with our busy lives.

I also signed up for a Twitter account. Struggling with that still. I can seem to create posts but am having difficulty figuring out how to follow others.

I like the quick and easy way we can catch up with each others lives and share photos. I am concerned about the content that sometimes seems to appear from others. I feel it could easily be abused.

Our students have been trained and expect instant gratification and results. Social media contributes to that. The computer gives our students instant information. That can be great when you want them to complete projects in such a short amount of time. It can also be a problem due to the fact that they have access to information that may or may not be correct. Students have to be careful what they perceive as true when dealing with social media and the world wide web.

I can see myself using a blog to get the students to share insight in what they have learned for the day and answering higher level questions about the objectives. One of the blogs had students in teams and each was reponible for posting to the blog on certain days. They gave a short version of the lesson learned with examples and the daily assignment. I think this would be a great tool for teachers to use to communicate with asbent students as well as parents. I hope that our district comes up with a plan to make technology available for this use.

Thing 2

It was amazing to see what technology can do for education. The idea of students working on the same project simultaneously and making comments without emailing a copy amazes me. I am concerned about having the technology available for all students to participate. I want to learn more about the collaboration tools available.

As shown on the website you shared with me it is a great way for students to discuss and share what they have learned in class. It would also be a great way for students to tutor each other online.

The Discovery Resources will give your students the opportunity to answer the age old questions about where are we ever going to use this.

21st Century Learners are going to need to know how to use all the resources available to be competitive in today's work force.

I also think it would be great to learn how to streamline new information from relevant sites to keep me as a teacher updated on new information pertaining to my subject and how to best meet the needs of my students.

Thing 1

I am participating in 8 Things so that I can get better at integrating technology into my classroom. It is interesting that you can allow students to interact with comments and participate in class so easily. I think it would enable relunctant learners an avenue of participating that is not so confrontational.

I am concerned about having technology available to use these ideas successfully in the classroom.

I believe that you will have to be careful about what you publish and make sure your students understand the ramifications of what they put on the internet.

I think it would be a great way for students to participate in discussions of issues and books. I think they would be more likely to participate and give their true insights into the matter.

I have not thought of a way to use this with math but am interested in reading others ideas.