REFLECTIONS

Because I teach First Grade, I feel that my favorite tools are the Wikis, and the Photostory. An activity that I will plan for my students to use combining these new tools, it's create wikis for different topics, have the kids research and add information, completing them with pictures creating a photostory. It's something that the students will learn from, and later we can show to their parents too. Also, I have joined an international project through Wikispaces, and we will be creating glogs for this project.
I have definitely transformed my thinking about the learning that will take place in my classroom, because I feel I have now more tools to apply for the different learning styles of my students. And more resources to explore.

TOOL # 11

I would teach the idea of digital citizenship to my students, in the same way I manage to teach everything else; talking about the privileges of counting on technology, and that it should be use only for learning purposes.


The three things I would want to make sure my students understand about being good digital citizens:
*Respect, of the equipment and for other people.
*Responsibility, about what they learn and what they post.
*Consequences, good and bad of their digital behavior.

TOOL #10

I explored the apps, looking for material that could be educational, and I liked the following:

World Countries (7 educational Apps). A great way to learn everything from all the countries, including capitals, flags, etc.



We already use Brain Pop Jr., but there is a Brain Pop Featured Movie App for the iPod, iPhone,and iPod Touch. All the movies are captioned, making it easy for the students to read along. The topics available were Science, Math, Social Studies, English, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health.



Science Glossary , which is an extensive glossary of scientific terms and short biographies of key scientists. Formatted specifically for the iPhone, all definitions link to related terms and detailed science learning modules.

The benefit for the students using iTouchs, iPads and appropriate apps it's that it will help them to have easy access to information to research, and have a better global conciseness. Also, it will help them to develop fine motor skills.

TOOL #9

Skype is a wonderful tool for face to face communication around the globe. I have been using it for a while to communicate with my relatives in Mexico and Spain, and friends in other countries. Being able to see them several times a week still amazes me. I could easily see using Skype in the classroom, since my students corresponds with a class in Punta del Este, Uruuay. I could use Jing to introduce my students to new software without having to keep the attention of an entire group. Just having them watch the video on their own screens will help them learn the programs faster.

TOOL # 8

It seems that students learn, understand and retain concepts much better if they get to see them in video. I show educational videos in my classsroom to teach my students.


I selected these videos to show to my students last year when we studied the units about Egypt and citizenship. It made the class more interesting, and fun learning!

TOOL #7

I created this story using pictures from last school year. Students can do the same, with pictures taken for instance, in a field trip. Or they can create a story using pictures they have made with KidPix, and adding their own words.

TOOL #6

Wikis are useful for teachers to research, share and store information. They are a great tool for the students for team or individual work within the classroom. I think it would be awesome to set up a Wiki for my class, to work in the Science units, and everyone can add to it.

TOOL #5

After comparing Diigo and Delicious, I decided to use Diigo, that way I stay within Google and it seems more complete. It is a very important tool that helps me to manage my favorite sites, sharing them, tagging and bookmarking within a network.

One of my favorite sites that I bookmarked is www.ixl.com , tagged Math , and the other is www.britannica.com , tagged Encyclopedia .
This tool is very useful in my classroom, because I can find resources online easily without searching all the web for them.

TOOL #4

Google docs is an excellent tool to create, edit and share documents online, and Google reader is the one tool you need to access several resources online at the same time. Both tools are very handy for the students, to create and share work or to research online.

TOOL #3

Wordle - Texas: "
" Useful to teach facts about any topic

Imagechef.com

TOOL #2

Being a teacher means being a lifelong learner. When I build an online education community, and participate in a personal learning network, it will help me to connect to the whole educational world and increase the chances to learn more and more. It is like a two ways road where I will benefit from other people's expertise; and at the same time, I will be able to share my own experience with other educators. A supportive system.
From the commenting advice, the point that stood out for me is "Invite comments". Why? Because you are welcoming readers, and encouraging them to be part of your post. This will bring other points of view, questions, and at the end, more developing of the topic you are talking about.
I selected the five following blogs to post a comment
*Always learning
*English with Rosa
*Greetings from the world
*2cents worth
*Websites for the day to teach ELL, ESL and EFL

TOOL # 1

I am so excited! I am professionally walking ahead by starting this blog. It feels good to learn something new that it will help me to improve as a teacher. Creating the blog and the avatar was easy and fun, the directions were clear. I can use a blog to communicate with the parents; an avatar would be a great aid to show directions to my students.