Tool #6

Wikis are great, I have had experience using them with both adult peers and students in the past. I have seen how they can be used with much success with both groups.

In my position as LA SIS I hope to get teachers using wikis this year to track their learning and "refining" of Balanced Literacy. I am thankful we are all adding this knowledge to the toolbox and look forward to us using this knowledge this year.

Tool #5

I previously had a Delicious account but will admit that I did not use it much. For this tool I signed up for a Diigo account and found a few websites to tag. These are both websites from presenters I saw at a recent technology conference. They are ones that teachers will find useful.

www.edutecher.net
www.lesliefisher.com

I see the usefulness with this tool in that teachers can tag websites and make getting to those easier for their students.

I learned about another tool- www.only2clicks.com that is similiar to tagging. It would be a tool that teachers could use much the same way, They have a "home" page were they add the websites they want their students to use. I see the potiental of teachers really liking the "friendliness" of only2clicks.

Tool #4

I recently attended a technology conference where Google Docs was "all the buzz." I know it is the direction we are headed in public schools and I really think once we "play" with them we will become comfortable with Docs. The ability for collaboration within Docs is a great and something I hope teachers will embrace.
I already have a Google Reader that I use to follow some educational blogs. I have added a few new blogs to my reader.

Tool #3

I used the spell with Flickr tool (see above) , it is a cool concept and one that can add to a student project. I also created a collage (below) but used Picasa for that. I have used most of the other image generators with both teachers and students. I find that image generators are a fun was to display information. The challenge is making sure there is some content learning involved in this process.

Ready for a run?????

Tool #2

I think online communities are something that we HAVE to be comfortable with. Our students are so past us when it comes to social networking, it is their world. The "real" challenge teachers face is how to tie the content in with the new methods. In order to face that challenge we can't also have a fear of the technology and what that involves.

I commented on the following blogs-
Kindergarten as SOE
Cashiola's Chronicles
Technofitness, Here I Come
Always Learning

Tool #1 part 2

WOW, yall did it! It was so exciting to spend the afternoon with 19 SOE bloggers and a few guests working on the 11 tools. We all made great progress and I think everyone walked away with a little more confidence that they CAN DO THIS. I know there were times of frustration and a bit of anger but hang in there- tool #1 really is one of the most challenging.
I wanted to add a bit of reflection about this tool after basically doing it with a class of students, they are adults but still learners. It was so good there were 2 of us there (thanks to April, you rock) because I fear that had it just been me they would not have made it as far as they did. This is something that has to be considered when working with students, there is only one you and possibly 25 of them, plan ahead and be ready for the glitches you might face. Something that happened (often) was after one person "got" the task, they walked others through it. We all know the power in this and allowing it to happen in a classroom is crucial.
I hope some others felt they walked away with some valuable learning, I know I did. Thanks to all of you :)