Mod 4 Step 3: Final Blog Reflection

I found the introduction to Web 2 tools extremely helpful in expanding my curriculum. It’s so important for educators to stay abreast with emerging technologies. I plan on taking advantage of resource blogs as well as podcasts for resource material and acquiring new and different approaches for teaching. With so much information available, our class use of blogs for specific kinds of information will be critical for student success. It makes the learning process more exciting to my students, and any motivational tool I can use…I will.

After reviewing various blog sites I found perhaps the most useful http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schrockguide/edtools.html
I found the site very helpful and full of excellent resources. Under the tab Lesson plans and Thinking Skills is a section called Technology Infusion Lesson Links…There are excellent links including Web Quests, which I plan to incorporate into my lesson plans.

Specifically I plan to create a Web Quest for my students exploring Iroquois history. Each student will choose a historical figure important in Haudenosaunee (People of the Longhouse) history. They will research on the Internet using various search engines and blogs, as well as any podcast relevant to their subject. They will then create a 3 page paper using Quark Express to summarize their subject as well as share how and where their resources were found. Additionally, using Power Point they will create a slide show of at least 5 slides highlighting their historical figure and the era in which he/she lived.

Also losing Posts

I seem to have the same problem losing posts. I keep on going back and reviewing activities to make sure I have followed procedure. It's almost a relief to hear others having issues. Thanks for listening:)
Gary

Useful ed Blog sites

Two blogger sites I found useful:
http://www.21classes.com/ virtual classroom and BlogPortal.Instant use, hosted, free
http://www.freetech4teachers.com/ A review of free technology for teachers….Technology integration.
Both these sites are useful for Technolgy/Computer teachers. They list resources and share ideas and I would say very useful for classroom instruction.

My reaction to Henry Jenkin's Why Academics should blog

I found the process of creating a blog relatively easy. You directions were concise and accurate. Thank you!
In response to the article “Why Academics Should Blog” I found the rational for academic use logical and can see endless possibilities navigating and using “The Blogosphere”......particularly in actively participating in current debates regarding world events. It also occurs to me that running a student blog allows the students to check in daily, enabling them to buy into the system and help create this great “information circulation”. To me this encourages “higher order thinking” and creative problem solving skills so necessary for us to be successful in the 21st century. What the author says about the need for commitment and setting deadlines and developing strategies for generating content for our blogs is very good advice. Being proactive in this learning process seems the right way to go, both for students as well as us. The Blogosphere exposes us to a myriad of different opinions and ideas and would seem to accelerate the users in-depth understanding of whatever is being blogged. Again the possibilities are endless.